No Day But Today
by TheFantasticPhantomWriter
Summary: What happens when Ellis finds an injured Hunter and helps him out? What will the other survivors think? EllisxHunter. Possible EllisxNick, but not much. ManxMan. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

"Ellis, damn it, get back here!" Nick yelled out from a cabin in the woods as the younger man snuck away from the others with a mischievous grin on his face. He frowned when he realized he'd been caught, having planned to go out without the others noticing.

"I'm just explorin'!" He yelled back, continuing on his way towards a stream that ran nearby. When he reached it, he dipped his hands into the water, splashing some on his face to wipe off the dirt and grime that built up after spending so long bashing in zombie heads with baseball bats. He was just considering whether or not he could actually get a bath (there weren't any zombies in the immediate vicinity) when he heard a hiss that sounded suspiciously like…

"HUNTER!" He yelled, before realizing that he was standing alone by the stream. He grabbed his gun and whipped around, trying to find the special infected in the slowly darkening light of dusk. Another hiss from his left caused him to whip around wildly. Then he noticed something strange. Hunters attacked from above. The sound was coming from the ground. Ellis cautiously moved to the side, trying to see around a tree that was blocking his vision. "Mother Mary," He whispered to himself when he saw what was behind the tree.

* * *

><p>"There's a Hunter back there!" Yelled a panting Ellis as he burst into the wood cabin where the other survivors stood, dishing out some canned ravioli among themselves.<p>

"I told you not to go running out by yourself, Overalls," Nick said with a sneer. The younger survivor frowned at him and resisted making a witty come-back, choosing instead to ignore him.

"I need a med-kit," Ellis said suddenly, turning towards Rochelle. She frowned and observed him from a distance.

"You don't look injured," She responded after looking him up and down. " Why do you need it?"

"I'm goin' out again. I need it just in case," He said casually, innocently flicking a speck of zombie guts off his gun. Rochelle sighed.

"You shouldn't be going out by yourself. One of these days you'll be caught by something you can't handle." She advised, but she passed him a red kit all the same, knowing her words wouldn't stop him from his habits of going off alone. He just shrugged as he slung the kit over his back.

"Ain't nothin' got me yet," He said once he was ready to walk back out the door.

"That's luck, kid, not skill," Nick called after him with a condescending laugh.

* * *

><p>Ellis snorted at Nick's comment on his way back to the stream. 'He's right 'bout one thing at least. This was all luck 'n no skill.' He thought to himself. He had to take a deep breath before he walked around the huge tree for the second time that evening. He was greeted by yet another angry hiss, and a sight that he'd never seen before that day.<p>

A Hunter lay there, drenched in blood, scratch marks covering his body. It was a miracle the creature was still alive, but Ellis assumed it was its infected blood that was keeping him alive. He was obviously in pain, however, since the half of the face that Ellis could see was contorted into an agonized expression.

Ellis kneeled beside him, curiously examining the marks on the Hunter's leg. He continued to hiss and growl, but was apparently too weak to actually sit up and attack the human being examining him. The marks were deep and long, and Ellis decided that they were created by another Hunter. No Witch would leave its prey alive, infected or otherwise, unless it died, and there were no Witch corpses anywhere nearby.

"Okay, Buddy, I'm gonna help you out here," Ellis said to the Hunter who stiffened up and listened to him speak. "It's kinda an experiment, but please don't attack me," He pulled the med-kit slowly off his back, making sure not to make any sudden moves. He didn't think the Hunter could attack properly, but he didn't want to take any chances. Besides, how often did he get a chance like this?

In Ellis' mind, the infected lost nearly all of their human emotions and thoughts, leaving shells behind that were only capable of the simplest instincts. Eat, sleep, and reproduce. Although frankly, he didn't know if the creatures were into the whole sex ordeal, and he didn't really want to find out. He just wasn't into that.

The special infected were slightly different. They took more intelligent approaches, generally, to capture their prey, although it was obvious that they didn't really feel human emotions. Ellis wondered if there was something inside of them that made them more intelligent than the others, perhaps some remnant of their human pasts. Here, Ellis was given the chance to examine further how the creatures acted without getting immediately ripped to shreds. Somehow he doubted a Hunter at full strength would stop long enough for Ellis to sit down and conduct a pleasant interview.

"I'm gonna help you," He said quietly, hoping to get a response from the creature. It sniffed at him, and let loose a small growl, but otherwise did not make any intelligent reply. Ellis opened the kit and pulled out a roll of bandages and a pair of scissors. He cut the tape that held the pants of the Hunter closed to decrease air flow and pulled them off. He was relieved that the creature retained a pair of faded gray boxers, so he wouldn't have to stare at zombie junk the entire time he tried to fix up the creature.

"Easy," He said as the Hunter let out a long hiss when the pants were tossed to the side. Clearly it felt vulnerable. Ellis sighed and stared closer at the wounds. Some of the smaller ones were already closing shut on their own, proof of the ability infected had to heal faster than a regular human. He skipped the disinfecting part of his routine, deciding that if the Hunter died of an infection, it would be so ironic that it would be worth it. He wrapped the bandage around one leg first, skipping the knee so the leg could still bend. He moved on to the other leg and was soon finished with that as well.

"Well, I don't know how useful these pants are after gettin' a shreddin' like that," Ellis said, holding up the tattered material. "But I guess I can't just leave ya 'ta walk around in your boxers, now can I?" He slipped the bandaged legs carefully back into the navy pants, not bothering to put the tape around again. This Hunter wasn't doing any leaping for a while anyways.

It took nearly an hour, but Ellis was pleased with his work when he stood back up to appraise the Hunter. He certainly looked less worse for the wear after he had washed the blood off his body with water from the stream.

"How's that?" He asked, though he didn't really expect a response. The Hunter glanced down at himself, sniffing and gently prodding his own leg. After thoroughly investigating himself, he turned to stare at Ellis, who wondered briefly what was under the hood. The Hunter had nearly bitten his hand off when he tried to pry the hoodie off, and had to instead settle for lifting the sweater and t-shirt up the best he could to wrap his abdomen.

Ellis, always the adventurous one, crawled forwards and sat directly in front of the Hunter, who looked startled, and crawled backwards slightly. When Ellis held his ground, the creature lifted a clawed hand and touched his face in an almost curious manner. The humans heart went wild, and he felt every muscle in his body clench as if to run away. He couldn't think of any moment that he had been this close to a special infected, or any infected, really, without being attacked.

However, the Hunter didn't seem to be vicious as long as Ellis didn't make any jerky movements. (Literally and figuratively.) He sat up and crouched, almost like a cat, and agilely approached Ellis, stopping within inches of his face to sniff him. He ran a hand over his hair, licked his forehead and even tried to stick a finger in his ear. Ellis, naturally, moved his head away from that contact, fear returning at full throttle when the Hunter growled at him. He didn't bolt, however, and the Hunter backed off to sit down quietly. Ellis stood up slowly, keeping eye contact with him, before he turned and set off towards the cabin again at a brisk pace.

What he didn't notice was the Hunter following him back.

* * *

><p>"I'm back!" Ellis called out, banging a fist on the door to the cabin. Coach opened it for him, clapping him on the back as he walked inside.<p>

"You should watch yourself out there," He warned before collapsing into a chair that he presumably had just abandoned. Rochelle smiled over from the sink full of water where she was wiping off their supper dishes.

"Where's the med-kit, Hun?" She asked curiously, leaning to try to see if it was on his back. Ellis scratched the side of his head. He hadn't thought about an excuse to tell them.

"Well, uh… Y'see…" He muttered as he ran through several lies. Nick laughed.

"You lost it, didn't you?"

"I… Well… Maybe," Ellis replied, secretly glad to be spared finding a good lie. He was often careless, and the others wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that he had lost something. Rochelle frowned at him in an almost parental manner.

"We only have so many of those," She scolded. " So try not to misplace any more, okay sweetie?" Ellis just nodded in response and yawned. Patching the Hunter up had made him sleepy.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," He announced, stretching out his arms above his head.

"Alright, I'll take first watch, then," Coach said, grabbing a shotgun and pulling his chair in front of the door. "The rest of you should git some rest." There were cheery calls of "Goodnight!" from Rochelle and Ellis, and a brief mutter from Nick before they all started to make their way towards the stairs. They all stopped in their tracks when they heard a sound come from the front door.

_Scratch, scratch, scratch. _"What's that?" Rochelle whispered, pulling out a pistol from the waistband of her jeans and holding it up in the direction of the door. "It sounds like something trying to… get in." They all stayed perfectly still, those with weapons on them had them out. (Ellis regretted propping his gun up against the wall, suddenly.)

Five minutes later, the scratching was still there. There were no breaks in the sound whatsoever.

"You know what I think?" Coach whispered back to them. They all stared at him in response, still not really wanting to speak. "I think that whatever's out there ain't tryin' to hurt us." They listened again, once more falling silent.

"I think you're right, Coach," Rochelle said after a moment, letting her voice get a little louder. " If infected wanted to get in here, they'd bang on the door and rattle it and attract more… Plus they'd probably have left by now, according to their short attention span."

"So what do we do?" Ellis asked, still whispering. "What if it's a survivor?" Coach shared half a glance with Rochelle.

"It could be someone hurt that can't stand to knock," She said. Nick scoffed at the idea of there being a survivor outside the door. There hadn't been any in the entire town they had just scoured, let alone running around in the woods.

"Okay, let's look," Coach said, taking a deep breath. "Y'all step forwards in case somethin' bad happens." They all did, and held their weapons pointed at the door. Ellis grabbed his gun from its spot by the wall and walked right beside Coach, who was carefully unbolting the door. The scratching continued, and they all exchanged a quick nod when all the locks were undone.

Coach grasped the doorknob, and after closing his eyes for half a second, he opened the door with a creak. He let out a yell when he saw what was at their front door.

"HUNTER!" He yelled, aiming his gun. Ellis gasped when he realized that the creature sitting outside the door scratching like a cat was the one he had helped. It's pants were ripped, and he could see the flash of white bandages underneath.

"SHOOT IT!" Nick shouted behind them, taking aim.

"WAIT!" Ellis yelled, jumping in front of their guns and holding his arms out wide to block the Hunter from their views.

"Get out of the way, Ellis!" Rochelle dove forwards, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him. "The Hunter will get you!"

"No he won't, Ro!" He responded, pulling his arm out of her grip. "Look, he hasn't even moved since we opened the door!" They all turned and stared. It was true, the creature was still sitting there, crouched like a cat, staring at them all, looking slightly apprehensive.

"Ellis," Coach said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you know somethin' we should know?" Ellis shuffled nervously, but jumped slightly when he felt a hand close around his ankle. He looked down and almost panicked when he saw the Hunter keeping him rooted to the spot, sniffing his leg.

"S-See?" He said. "He's just curious." They all stared anxiously as the creature continued it's inspection, sniffing up both legs and even trying to smell his butt.

"Hey!" He yelled, pushing the Hunter's face away as a reflex. The creature hissed at the sudden contact with his face, but did not attack.

"What are we going to do now?" Nick asked. "Look's like that thing's taken a damn liking to Overalls, over there." Ellis blushed and rocked back and forth on his feet.

"Well, that's because… I helped him." He gulped, glancing sideways at the Hunter to avoid looking at everybody else. There was a tense silence.

"You what?" Nick said, breaking it. " You helped it? What the hell, Ellis?"

"_Him_," Ellis corrected. "And because… I dunno. It seemed right."

"You could have died!" Rochelle cried out. "You risked your life to patch up a killing machine?"

"He was attacked by another Hunter! Ain't that sad to you guys? That's like if one of y'all upped and tried to kill me." He glanced at Nick. "But I guess sometimes it don't seem so unlikely." The conman rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"It's still a Hunter," He said in a harsh voice. "A damned Hunter that we can't trust." Before Ellis could argue, Coach stepped forwards.

"Look Ellis," He said, putting an arm on his shoulder. "I have to agree with Nick. That thing is just too dangerous to have around." Ellis' mouth opened and closed like a goldfish for a moment. Coach, always the decent one, was agreeing with _Nick?_ Ellis had thought he would be the one to understand the most; that this creature had been left for dead in the woods, with no chance, because nobody was going to help him, not the infected, and if a survivor came along? Well, he'd have to hope to get a bullet through his brain and end his suffering.

But the other survivors weren't Ellis. He had grown up in a place where alligators were everywhere. An animal that many people feared, especially because of it's relation to the crocodile, a much more violent creature than itself. But, the alligator still got into trouble because of this relation, and for it's fearsome looks and reputation. Ellis had known people that went out in boats and shot at the alligators with guns, just for fun. He had always hated this behavior.

But one time, he found an alligator that had been injured by humans, but was still alive. He, Ellis, had patched that creature up just like he had done with the Hunter, vicious reputation aside. What mattered was that he wasn't leaving the thing to die there. It was much different to kill something to protect yourself, quite another to shoot a creature in the head just because it was there, and couldn't attack.

"That's not fair!" Ellis stated angrily. "He needed help, and look, he ain't attackin' no one or anythin'! Maybe he's thankful!"

"And how long will he stay thankful for, sweetie?" Rochelle said, stepping forwards more to stare at the Hunter that was now pulling at Ellis' shoelaces. "He looks like a docile pet or something now, but what happens when he decides that he's more hungry than he is your friend?"

"He won't do anything!"

"You don't know that!" Nick snapped. "Why are you so attached to the fucking thing? Should we buy it a collar and leash and get it neutered?" The Hunter growled like he understood those words and didn't appreciate the neutering suggestion.

"Ellis, leave the Hunter outside." Coach pushed through the conversation once more. "It might not even stay until tomorrow mornin'." Ellis bit his lip and looked down at the Hunter who was staring at Nick and growling under his breath.

"Fine," He said. "I'll be righ' back then." He walked outside with the Hunter next to him and closed the door in the faces of his friends. With a sigh, he walked over to the shed next to the cottage that had once been full of gardening tools and outdoor activity supplies, but was now empty. (He assumed that the family that had vacationed here once must have taken their belongings with them when they had left.) He opened the door and pegged it that way, so that he wouldn't be keeping the Hunter captive.

"C'mon, you stay in here," Ellis said, walking inside so the creature would follow him. He did, sniffing curiously at the walls. "I'm goin' back ta' the cottage. I'll be back tomorrow." The Hunter watched him leave but seemed to understand his words, since he didn't make any move to follow him.

"Jus' don't run away," Ellis sighed to himself as he let himself back into the cottage.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Here is the first chapter of my new story! The idea popped into my head randomly, and I figured it would be pretty interesting to work with. _I've become somewhat addicted to L4D2, particularly Ellis. He's just adorable and nyaaaaah. I like Nellis too, so I might write one of those sometime too. (One of the managers at my store looks exactly like Nick, with a soul patch. He even has the rings.)__

_I also realized that I talk suspiciously like Ellis, even before I knew he existed. Even though I'm originally from Newfoundland Canada, not Savannah. I always cut the "g" off of words ending in "-ing", and I say "ya" instead of "you." Stuff like that. Weird._

_I'm having fun with this, so hopefully updates will be sort of frequent. There's not enough EllisxHunter out there. Oh yeah, let me know what you think of the length of this chapter. I can up the page count from 4, (which I probably will) but I'd like to know your opinion!_


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone looked up when Ellis returned, and he read their questions on their faces before they even spoke.

"He's in the shed," He mumbled, starting up the stairs. "I'm goin' ta bed."

"Ellis…" Rochelle said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You can't help him. It's a Hunter, can't you understand why we're worried?" He didn't shake it off, but he didn't respond either. She sighed and retreated back into the living room, letting Ellis go into his chosen bedroom. He collapsed onto the double bed, bouncing a few times from the impact. Without changing his clothes, he rolled over and fell asleep.

When he woke up the next morning, he felt much better than the night before, and he bounced down the stairs with his usual vigor.

"G'mornin!" He called out happily, grabbing a can of tomato soup out of Rochelle's hand and dumping the contents into a bowl. He'd have to eat it cold, but they had all gotten used to that by now. They were lucky if they found themselves somewhere with electricity.

"You seem happy," Rochelle commented, setting a spoon in his soup for him.

"I'd be happier with some of them there crackers for my soup," He said, nodding towards the pack on the counter. Coach, who was fixing himself some breakfast tossed the package over.

"Thank ya kindly," Ellis said, crunching them up and dumping them in his breakfast.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Nick asked, clearly not feeling the same way as he moodily tried to smooth his hair back. "It's pissing me off."

"Dunno," Ellis replied with soup dripping out of his mouth. "Jus' am. Maybe sleepin' helped."

"You're making a mess of yourself," Rochelle sighed, wiping his mouth for him with a napkin. Nick rolled his eyes at how she was babying him.

"Thanks Ro," Said Ellis, sipping the last of the soup by tipping his bowl into his mouth. "I'm goin' out. Won't be long, checkin' on the Hunter." They all fell silent as Ellis strapped a knife to his hip and slung his gun over his shoulder. They had clearly thought he had given up on the creature. With a grin, Ellis left the cottage and it's occupants.

Ellis peeked inside the shed cautiously, not wanting to shock the creature and be attacked. Apparently he didn't need to worry about that, since there wasn't anything inside.

"Huh?" Ellis said. He stood back and looked around the clearing in the woods, but the Hunter wasn't in sight. "Where are ya, buddy? I don't know yer name, so I can't call out to ya." There was no answer, and Ellis felt his heart fall. He had been sure the Hunter would stay.

His head snapped back up when he heard a growl from behind him. He turned around, and sitting right on top of the shed was the Hunter.

"Oh, there ya are! Whaddya tryin' ta do, hidin' like that?" Ellis said, putting his hands on his hips and staring up at him. "C'mon down, buddy. It's day two of tryin' to get them all to like ya." The Hunter crouched and then sprang, landing not on the ground, but on top of Ellis with what seemed to be a playful growl. Ellis let out a yell of surprise and fell down hard, but laughed a little himself. The Hunter sat on his chest and sniffed him, and Ellis stayed perfectly still. The creature continued this, sniffing over his body as though memorizing him. Occasionally he poked or scratched at him, like on his abdomen and cheeks. When the Hunter made to reach between his legs to investigate, Ellis yelped and pushed him away.

"C'mon now, you ain't s'pose to touch there!" He exclaimed with pink cheeks. The Hunter stared curiously at him and tried to touch him again. "NO!" Ellis shouted at him, pushing his hands away. "I said ya ain't s'pose to do that." The Hunter finally got the hint, sitting back like a cat and staring absentmindedly into the forest.

"Ellis!" He heard Rochelle call. "Are you okay?" The three others came running around the side of the house, looking panicked.

"Wha?" Ellis said, surprised. "I'm fine, what're you doin' runnin' 'round here for?" She ignored him and ran up to inspect him, while both Nick and Coach kept guns trailed on the Hunter who eyed them warily.

"We heard you yell," She said finally, sitting back when she had comforted herself in the fact that he was alright. "Thought he must have attacked you." Ellis turned his head to the side. How embarrassing. They had heard him yell at the Hunter for trying to grope him.

"N-No, he was jus'… Uh…" He thought quick. "He jus' jumped at me, quick like. Kinda surprised me." He stared at Nick and Coach. "Y'all can put them guns down. He ain't gonna hurt anybody." At that very moment, the Hunter started to growl, and he bounded away into the forest, not looking at any of them.

"Where's that thing goin'?" Coach demanded, staring into the dank woods. His question was answered when the Hunter came crawling back with a common infected being dragged along in his mouth. He settled down 10 feet from the survivors and started to munch on an arm.

"They're cannibals?" Nick said in disgust, staring at the Hunter while he ate his kin.

"Who cares, he ain't eatin' us, right? That means he won't attack us or nothin'!" Rochelle crossed her arms and stared at the creature.

"Well, it means he won't starve. But we probably taste a little bit better than that thing." She wrinkled her nose, and Ellis knew she'd be insulted if the Hunter thought the infected tasted better. "Anyways, we're packing up soon to get a move on out of this forest. We'll be stopping in a little town about 30 miles away."

"Alright. He's comin' too," Ellis said stubbornly. She sighed and glanced over at Coach.

"Well, he ain't attacked no one yet… Let's try it out. If he puts one toe outta line, though…" Ellis nodded in his acknowledgement of the threat and grinned.

"He'll be fine, don't chu worry." Nick just shook his head and retreated back towards the cottage.

"Alright, now that we know we might be killed in our sleep tonight, let's go pack our things, shall we?"

* * *

><p>An hour and a half later at 9:30 AM, they were packed and ready to leave the forest. The Hunter had sat and watched them putting all their things in order curiously, growling when anyone but Ellis came too close to him. Especially Nick. Perhaps he could sense the hate emanating off of the conman, but he just plain didn't like the guy. It made Ellis laugh.<p>

"Alright y'all, let's hit the road," Coach said, pulling on a backpack and readying his precious shotgun. They all nodded and started off, following Coach and his compass. Rochelle walked beside him, and Ellis trailed behind, walking with Nick while the Hunter bounced from tree to tree. When he had first leaped up, it had surprised Ellis because he thought the wounds he had acquired would have prevented him jumping, but apparently the healing rate was higher for the infected than he had thought.

It was a little awkward walking beside Nick, who stayed silent and occasionally glared at the Hunter.

"Y'know Nick, there was this one time Keith tried 'ta see how high of a dive he could make into the river, and oh man, ya shoulda' seen this, he jumped right off the top of this big ol' bridge! A' course he got some bruises from that, but-" Ellis rambled on, trying to break the silence.

"Ellis," Nick said, turning and staring at him. Ellis piped up.

"Yeah, Nick?"

"Shut up." He turned and continued walking. Ellis followed, frowning at him.

"I was just tryin' to make a conversation," He mumbled, shoving the hand not holding his pistol into his pocket. "S'not my fault that yer a boring old man."

"Don't call me old," Nick growled. Ellis grinned.

"But ya are. Old, that is."

"I'm not that old."

"Yer a liar, Nick."

"Shut up, Overalls."

* * *

><p>At around 12:00, they finally exited out of the forest and into a much clearer region with hills and grass and in the distance they saw a wide river crossing the landscape. Ellis whooped and ran happily up a hill and flopped down under a shady tree.<p>

"It's nice ta be outta that forest," He sighed, laying back on the ground and staring up through the leaves of the tree where sunlight filtered down. Since he had run ahead so fast when he had seen the open space, the others took a few seconds more to get up the hill after him.

"It is nice, isn't it Ellis?" Rochelle said cheerfully. "We should have some lunch now, so why don't we stop and enjoy this?" He nodded happily and quickly got up to help Rochelle set up like any decent gentleman. Ellis had been raised well, and he never hesitated to help a lady out. When the blanket was down and the food was laid out, they all sat down again, Ellis returning to his place against the tree.

"This is right lovely," Coach said, biting into some slightly stale bread that had become the norm for them all. Nick stayed silent, munching his food and staring over the landscape. Anyone could tell he liked it too, but he wasn't about to become poetic over it.

"Where's my Hunter?" Ellis wondered out loud suddenly.

"_Your_ Hunter?" Nick said incredulously.

"Well, it's a way to tell him apart from the other ones," Ellis defended himself. He looked around, still wondering where he could be.

"Don't look now, but I think I found him," Nick said in an apathetic voice, staring up into the tree. Ellis followed his gaze and saw the Hunter sitting there, perched on a branch staring at them all.

"Hey Buddy," Ellis called up. The Hunter shifted forwards on the branch to get a better look at him. "Oh, I just remembered somethin', " Ellis said with his mouth full of food. Rochelle stared at him with a scold in her eyes, so Ellis quickly swallowed before continuing. "We don't know this fellas name."

"Jim-Bob?" Nick suggested sarcastically in an accent like Ellis'.

"Don't be rude." Ellis frowned, staring up into the trees again. "Do you got a name?" He asked, wondering if he could get a response. There was a pause, and then a sort of growl from the creature, as though trying to vocalize something. After repeating this a few times, he seemed to get frustrated and leaped back to the ground, crawling around Ellis and staring at the ground. He scratched at the dirt, managing to make faint letter with his claws.

"Ya can write?" Ellis whispered, staring at him. Just how human were these things? The Hunter growled again and continued focusing. It seemed to be difficult for him to do, as though the letters had slipped from his mind. Finally he sat back and growled again.

The word 'Hunter' was written there.

"Uh, buddy, I asked for yer name." Ellis said, staring at the word. The Hunter hissed, frustrated.

"Y'know," said Coach, " Hunter is actually a name, too."

"No way." Nick laughed, surprising them all. "It can't be that ironic. That's crazy." Ellis thought for a moment.

"Maybe he doesn't remember his real name," He suggested, and the Hunter let out an assenting noise. "He seems ta' understand us fine though. Guess he's Hunter from now on." Hunter let out an almost-purring sound from somewhere in his chest.

"You're trying to humanize a monster," Nick muttered. Hunter growled at him, then stared curiously at Ellis who was shoveling bread and jam into his mouth happily.

"Want some?" Ellis said through the food in his mouth, earning yet another disapproving look from Rochelle. "Sorry Ro," He added on after swallowing again. Hunter sniffed the bread and took a quick bite. Ellis laughed when his face contorted unpleasantly. Clearly the infection had altered his taste buds.

"Ya think you could learn ta' talk?" He wondered mostly to himself out loud, staring at Hunter, who glanced back up from his gagging routine. He growled out something undecipherable, then something that was almost a sigh.

"Maybe I'm just being unnecessarily positive because of the scenery… But from the way he's communicating, it might be possible," Rochelle said. Hunter ignored her and crawled behind Ellis. Everyone but Ellis tensed up as Hunter twined his fingers into Ellis' hair. When he tried to remove the hat on his head though, Ellis pushed his hand away.

"Leave that there," Ellis scolded, fixing it back into it's original position.

* * *

><p>An hour later, they were all packed up again and ready to leave. Hunter hung around Ellis, looking nervous about not having enough trees to bounce around without touching the ground. Ellis took up his place next to Nick again, and the latter did not look pleased about having Hunter walk with them.<p>

"Not many infected 'round here, eh Nick?" Ellis said cheerfully. Nick scowled.

"Except the monster walking next to you? Yeah, not too damn bad."

"Geez Nick, what's yer problem?" Ellis demanded suddenly. "Are ya a jerk all the time, or are you just frustrated or somethin'?"

"Frustrated?" Nick replied, gritting his teeth. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm pretty frustrated that we're going through this shit, yeah."

"Not that," Ellis muttered. "Forget it."

"What is it, Overalls?" Nick snapped. "Don't just suggest something and then not finish what it was."

"I mean, I guess we're all a little tense, aren't we?" Ellis seemed to be talking to himself. "That ain't our fault, this damn apocolypse screws shit over."

"Tense over _what_?" Nick groaned. "Maybe-ya-just-ain't-got-no-relief-in-a-while," Ellis burst out quickly, looking down after he had said it, scratching the back of his neck embarrassedly. "Jus' sayin'." He added on.

"Ellis," Nick said with a disbelieving expression. "Are you saying I'm sexually frustrated or something?"

"It was just a thought!" Ellis quickly replied, holding his hands up like he was stopping traffic.

"Don't let Rochelle hear you say anything like that," Nick said, rolling his eyes. "It'd break her poor heart to think that her baby boy here knows what sexual tension is."

"I'm not no baby! I know perfectly well-" He was cut off by Nick's laughter. "What?" He huffed out.

"Nothing. It's just funny. You're like, the biggest virgin ever." He laughed again.

"I am not!" Ellis snapped. " Unlike you, the 40-year old virgin."

"Hey," Nick said, now settled down to chuckles. " I've had sex up, down, sideways, and any other ways you could think of."

"Gaaaaaay," Ellis drawled with a grin.

"Me, gay? Man, you need to look at yourself. You're gay-bait."

"You would know, wouldn't ya?" Ellis grinned, shaking his rear at Nick. "Want a piece a' this, Nicky?"

"Don't call me Nicky again unless you want to lose a few teeth," Nick threatened. "Also, no, I think I'll pass, hick."

"Yer just worried that I'll be so good that ya won't last none," Ellis said with a laugh. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Your little virgin self wouldn't have any idea what to do." He put his hands on his cheeks and made a look of fake surprise. "'Does it go in _here_? Ya gotta be jokin'!" He imitated. Ellis scowled.

"I know how it works," He sniffed to himself. "I just ain't never done it 'cuz it's _weird."_ He thought for a second. "'Sides, I'm no bottom. Anyways, I was kinda serious before. That why yer always so pissed?" Nick rolled his eyes again.

"You're definitely a bottom. And that's not your business, Overalls."

"Well, it kinda is!" Ellis exclaimed. "Seein' as how yer a jerk when you're all pent up."

"Yeah, well, let me know if you want to get on your knees," Nick muttered moodily. "Because otherwise, this is the way I'm going to be."

Neither of them noticed how quiet Hunter had been through-out the whole conversation.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Hi y'all! (Gettin' in the Ellis spirit, here.) I had fun writing this chapter. Also I find it hilarious to think of Nick being sexually frustrated. I find Nick hilarious in general though, anyways, just because he's... well... Nick._

_The first bit of pairing business will probably be NickxEllis. That way I can have my fun writing about sexual tension between them and stuff, and then go into the HunterxEllis moments. I love both pairings, so I'll just shove them both in in a way that will work. Hopefully. I'm also hoping that this story will be long-ish, maybe 20 chapters or so. Depends on how long I stay interested. Switched ended at 10 chapters, and I originally planned it to be about 15. Not a huge cut by any means, but still shorter._

_I'm updating with a fury here! I've got today and tomorrow off work, so I'll probably get another chapter up tomorrow! Might also start my Nellis story, if I can get any ideas. I don't like wandering too far from the actual story-lines of things, so you don't need to worry about me sticking Nick in a school as a teacher and Ellis as his naughty student or anything. _

_Oh yeah, throwing this out there for general interest: Look at the poster for "Dead Center" from Left 4 Dead 2. Look at Ellis. Look at his hands. One of them is suspiciously located. Perhaps Valve likes Nellis as well? WHO KNOWS?_

_- Friendly Neighborhood FantasticPhantomWriter_


	3. Chapter 3

By the time they made it to the small town that was their goal (And after lots of arguments with Nick over a variety of things such as Midnight Riders and horses,) it was 6:00 PM. Entering the town wasn't terribly difficult; The population wasn't large, so there were only a few infected for each of them to pick off with their guns. There _was_ one Witch, but Hunter had proved himself useful and growled at them until they realized they were getting too close to her.

" Thanks buddy." Ellis said to Hunter, still using the nickname that he had given the creature from day one. It sounded a bit like he was talking to a dog, but Hunter didn't seem to mind. They continued walking down the mostly abandoned street, Ellis occasionally shooting an infected casually with his pistol when he saw them.

" We found the safe house!" Rochelle called back to them, pointing ahead to where they saw the red marker painted on a door. Ellis ran to catch up with them, wanting to see what their brief home would look like. It was a small convenience store, the kind that had a sort of apartment on top. This pleased Rochelle who pointed out that they could stock up on supplies in the store, if it hadn't been raided too thoroughly yet.

Ellis was, naturally, the first inside the building, running to see what the set-up was like. The downstairs was taken up by the store, which they were pleased to see, wasn't completely trashed. Upstairs was a simple 3 bedroom apartment, with a small kitchen and living room. They all got a burst of happiness when they saw that this safe house had a generator for electricity, and even running water. Nick, upon realizing this, had promptly searched the house to find a washer and dryer to get the stains out of his white suit. Rochelle praised the Lord and ran to wash her hands clean of the blood they had become covered with on the journey.

" Look, they have some DVD's and everythin'!" Coach said, looking pleased with the arrangements as he bent down in front of the entertainment center. " Even a game system, oh boy, better be some football games in here." Five minutes later, Coach and Ellis were still sorting through the games, tossing anything with war, or God forbid, _zombies_, to the side. Nick walked out of the hallway dressed in a pair of jeans that were too big for him, and a white dress shirt with the sleeves pushed up to the crook in his arm.

" Lookin' snappy." Ellis snickered.

" Shut up, Overalls, all the other clothes were too small." Nick mumbled, looking less than pleased about what he had to wear until the laundry was done. He flopped down onto the couch with a sigh. " By the way, your pet beast is gone out hunting or something." Ellis leapt up from his spot on the floor.

" What? Whaddya mean he's gone out?" He said, panicky. " He's still hurt, he might get attacked!" Coach heaved himself off the floor with a grunt.

" Don't worry yourself too much." He said. " He's still a Hunter, y'know. He can take care of himself." Ellis frowned, but didn't protest. There was no way they'd let him go looking for Hunter anyways, it was too risky. Rochelle walked back into the living room to join the other survivors, towel drying her hair happily. She had chosen to take a shower as well.

" That was fantastic. I haven't felt this clean since this damned apocolypse began." She sighed happily. " By the way, Coach and I already picked our rooms and dumped our stuff in them. You two are sharing." Nick immediately made an angry noise.

" I have to sleep in the same room as hick-boy?" He demanded. Rochelle just giggled and walked into the kitchen to investigate the cupboards.

" A bed, too. There's a queen sized one in there." Ellis shrugged at the news, not really caring much about the sleeping arrangements as long as he wasn't on the floor. Nick seemed aggravated, however and continued arguing with Rochelle. It didn't do him any good.

" Look, Nick, swallow your damn pride for once and sleep with Ellis." She snapped. " Coach, can you come help me get some stuff from downstairs?" Coach nodded his agreement and left Ellis and Nick together, not noticing the blush creeping up Ellis' face.

" She could have put that better." Nick muttered, standing to peek out of a hole in the boarded up window. " Your Hunter is coming back." Ellis tried to calm down the blush on his face and, wanting to be out of the same room as Nick, ran downstairs to open the door for Hunter.

" Welcome back." He said as Hunter leaped inside, a little blood surrounding his mouth as evidence to his recent meal. Ellis hoped fervently that it wasn't the blood of a survivor. " C'mon, let's go upstairs." Hunter bounced up faster than Ellis could have run, and waited for him at the top, licking some blood off his fingers. When he saw Ellis emerge, he crawled up to him, and standing upright much like a normal human, he looked at Ellis' face.

" Whaddya doin'?" Ellis asked as Hunter poked at his cheeks. He then realized that he was still pink from Rochelle's earlier statement. " Oh, that's nothin'." He mumbled, turning his face away. " Jus' happens when ya get all embarrassed and stuff." Hunter stared at him, wanting to know what had embarrassed him. Perhaps that's what he had wanted to know in the first place. Ellis just shrugged his shoulders and walked into what would be his and Nick's bedroom, flopping back onto the bed and staring at the ceiling. Hunter crawled up with him, poking at his cheek again curiously.

" Rochelle just said somethin' silly." He said, pushing the hand away. " She didn't mean nothin', but y'know, it was still kinda embarrassin'. Especially after that talk with Nick and all." The Hunter stayed silent at this remark before letting out a growl that was obviously asking what she had said.

" Jus' that Nick should swallow his pride n' sleep with me." He replied, rolling over onto his side and avoiding the Hunter's gaze. " Like I said, it's silly, bu- What're ya doin'?" He exclaimed suddenly as Hunter curled up against his back and twisted one of his hands into Ellis' hair. He growled and leaned forwards to lick his neck curiously, and was definitely not expecting the reaction he got. Ellis shuddered from head to toe, and leapt away from Hunter, falling off the bed in the process.

" W-What-?" He stuttered out, feeling the back of his neck.

" What's going on?" Nick ran into the room looking apprehensive, staring from Hunter to Ellis in confusion. " You okay?" He added on, staring at Ellis on the floor with his hand on the back of his neck. " Did he bite you?" He turned to glare at Hunter.

" Um…" Ellis said, blushing up to the roots of his hair. " He just, uh… Licked me." Nick blanked, looking from Ellis blushing on the floor to the Hunter looking disgruntled on the bed.

" The Hell?" He said finally. " That horny little bastard _licked_ you?" His face contorted in disgust and Hunter hissed, his own way of telling Nick to stop insulting him. Ellis just sat up, heart pounding. He hadn't expected that from Hunter at _all_. He was sort of shocked, and a bit horrified at how he had reacted. It had felt… well… not _bad_.

" I think he was jus'.. uh… curious." He said pathetically, still trying to defend the Hunter when in reality, he had no idea why he had licked him at all. " Leave him alone." Nick shook his head in disbelief before stepping out of the room angrily.

" What's his problem?" Ellis whispered to Hunter, who made a very human gesture and shrugged.

* * *

><p>" Do I <em>have<em> to?" Nick complained at supper around the circular dining table. " He'll probably kick me or something." He just wasn't giving up on the bed issue.

" What's your _problem?" _Rochelle asked, slurping some noodles while eyeing him crankily. " Jesus, just make a barrier between you out of pillows or something." Nick huffed and sat back in his chair, staring at his food as though it had personally offended him. Ellis remained quiet, picking at his food absentmindedly. Hunter was sitting beside him like an obedient pet, staring up at Ellis. He had offered him scraps, but he just didn't appreciate the 'human food'.

" Eee… Eee…" Came out of Hunter's mouth suddenly, and Ellis turned to stare at him curiously.

" Ya tryin' ta' talk?" He asked, pushing his unfinished supper away. " I can help ya, if ya want." Hunter made that happy purr sound from somewhere in his chest and followed his human into the living room where Ellis sat on the couch. Hunter crawled up and sat beside him, waiting patiently.

" Okay.. I guess we can start with sounds." Ellis suggested.

Hunter had some difficulty with creating human sounds, particularily on vowels. He had the letter 's' down to a T after all the hissing he had been doing in his infected life. 'G' wasn't any problem either. However, he tried hard, and had already progressed greatly by the end of the night. Coach, who had been watching the lessons, nodded his approval when Ellis finished.

" He might just amount to somethin'." He said, looking pleased. He had been growing more fond of the creature lately, especially since he had saved their hides from the Witch. " But we ain't put this big ol' TV to any use yet." He gestured towards the system and winked. Ellis laughed.

" Bet ya I can _destroy_ ya at this game. Looks like it's about farmin' or somethin'."

" That game is designed for young _girls_." Nick snorted, entering the room and looking at the box Ellis was holding. He paused for a minute. " Then again, go ahead, guess you fill the requirements." The country boy glared at him before tucking the game away crankily.

" I'll play on my own later, then." He sniffed. Rochelle followed the group and giggled at the pile of games they had thrown in the middle of the floor.

" Looks like it's a fun night ahead of us, boys!" She called happily. " Here, play this game first." She tossed them a soccer game and Ellis whooped. He had played with Keith and his buddies on his back lawn before, surely this couldn't be that different?

15 minutes later, he realized that _perhaps_ Keith had made up some rules. Like the one that said you could grab the ball and throw it in the net. There was definitely no button to do that in the game.

" Aw man!" He whined, dropping the controller on the couch. " That just ain't fair!" Coach chuckled.

" Who else wants to take me on?" He asked, flexing an arm in challenge. Rochelle tackled Ellis out of the way and grabbed the controller playfully.

" You're on." She smirked, inserting a game that included mini-games such as seeing who could catch the most of one thing first, building things, and other similar activities. She won all of them and did a little victory dance to celebrate.

" Alright!" She called after she had finished gloating in Coach's face, who was chuckling good-naturedly. " Nick, you have to play!"

" Play what?" He mumbled, staring down at the selection.

" Me and Coach will pick at random!" She said cheerfully. " Here, sit down." She pushed him onto the couch with Ellis, who shifted away from him uncomfortably. They both closed their eyes, and only opened them again when Rochelle gave the okay and they heard the theme music. Nick panicked when he saw the screen.

" Wha-?" He said. " Isn't this a game where you have to work _together_?" Coach snickered, and Rochelle answered calmly,

" Yes, we think it would do you well to learn how to work with Ellis properly." Ellis blushed and mumbled something incomprehensible under his breath. He pressed start, and they were brought to a screen where they picked their characters. Nick didn't bother pausing there, and just pressed continue again.

" Nick!" Ellis protested. " I didn't get to choose my character! I'm a girl now!" Nick just shrugged and grinned, staring intently at the screen. They found it rather difficult to move on, instead paying more attention to picking up objects and throwing them at each other. Because of this, they both died many times and had to revive each other to keep playing. Rochelle and Coach were howling with laughter, and even Hunter seemed amused, making growl-like laughing noises from somewhere deep in his chest.

" Alright, alright." Rochelle laughed after Nick and Ellis had finally managed to get to the boss and die spectacularly. " It's getting late, and I want to get up early to have a peek around this town. Get to bed!" She made a shoo-ing gesture as she stood up before walking down the hallway. A closing door alerted them that she had entered her room. Coach followed her lead, bidding them a good night and warning them not to kill each other.

" Not what I'm worried about." Ellis thought he heard Nick mutter under his breath as he walked to their now shared bedroom. " I'm going in now." He said louder, a bit awkwardly. Ellis shuffled his feet nervously and nodded.

" Um… Kay. I'm gonna get a shower." He ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind him, grateful to have this as an excuse to escape. With a sigh, he stripped down and turned on the water, sticking his hand underneath until it was nice and hot. It was like a miracle having hot water, and he wasn't going to waste it after bathing in cold rivers or not at all for weeks on end. He stepped in with a sigh, grabbing a bar of soap from a shelf, and beginning to scrub himself down, ignoring the use of a face-cloth. He found his mind wandering as he bathed, thinking about how he was going to have to sleep in the same bed as Nick for at least two nights.

He was so caught up in thinking of how to diffuse the awkward situation that he didn't notice the door open and shut quietly. He only noticed someone had entered when he turned to grab some shampoo and saw Hunter sitting on the floor of the bathroom, watching him.

" Ahh!" Ellis exclaimed in surprise. " What are ya doin'?" Hunter just shrugged, grabbing a bottle of soap and squirting some onto his hand. He grimaced and shook it off onto the floor. " Ooh, Rochelle is going to have yer hide." Ellis giggled. Hunter looked back up to him again.

" C'mon, wanna have a shower?" Ellis asked, splashing some water out at Hunter who backed up with an angry hiss. Now, most other guys probably would have panicked at having someone burst in on them showering. Not Ellis. As long as there was no sexual body contact, he generally wasn't bothered by being naked around people, except maybe girls. He had always been one of the only guys in the locker room that hadn't hidden as much as possible. In fact, Ellis had been that dork that ran around the room naked dancing and causing a general ruckus.

Hunter growled and crawled up to the shower, hesitantly sticking a finger under the water stream. Ellis smiled at him encouragingly. " You'll need to take off that sweater." He mentioned, pointing at it. Hunter looked down nervously, fingering the zipper in indecision. Finally, Ellis sighed, and stepped out of the shower to help him.

" Here." He said, unzipping it for him. Hunter kept his hand on the zipper while Ellis undid it, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to pull it back over his exposed skin. " I should remove them bandages too, y'know." Ellis added, grabbing a pair of scissors from a drawer under the sink and sliced easily through the bandage, letting it pool around his feet. " Hey, ya got some muscle." He said, touching his abdomen carefully, investigating what was left of the wounds. There were some deep scratches left, but they were slowly turning into scars. Hunter shivered and backed up slightly, hood still held over his face so Ellis couldn't see.

" Come on, ya can't get in like that. Don't be shy." Ellis grinned and pulled down the slightly torn pants that he had yet to replace. Hunter stood still, hands still holding the hoodie in place while Ellis worked the pants off and cut off the stained bandages on his legs. " Lookin' pretty good." He said after appraising the marks. " You're healin' up pretty good." When Ellis reached to pull off the gray boxers, Hunter hissed and pushed his hands down to stop him. This, however, released the grip on his hoodie which fell to the floor.

Ellis stared up at him, seeing his face for the very first time. His mouth fell open in shock. This wasn't what he had expected. Hunter had some dark brown scruffy hair, extremely pale skin like the rest of him with a few marks and scratches from twigs and other things he had run into, and big eyes. His eyes were a sort of amber colour, hovering somewhere between brown and red. Overall… He wasn't nearly as zombie-esque as Ellis had thought.

Hunter didn't seem to like the attention, since he screeched and pushed his clawed hands over his face, blocking it from view.

" What're ya doin'?" Ellis asked, grabbing his hands and pulling them back down. " Ain't nothin' wrong with ya, man." Ellis could have sworn he saw the pale cheeks redden slightly, but he didn't move the hands back up, which he found promising. Ellis reached back down to pull off the boxers again, but Hunter still didn't appreciate this move and blocked him again. With a sigh, Ellis decided that would have to do. He was getting cold standing butt-naked out of the shower.

" Let's get in." He said, jumping back into the steamy water. Hunter slowly walked in, hissing when the water hit his sensitive face that was usually protected from the elements. Ellis waited patiently, however, and slowly Hunter managed to get his entire body under the stream. The only problem with that was the size of the shower; it was not really built for two people, so it was rather tight.

" Here, lemme help ya." Ellis offered, squirting some fruity-scented shampoo onto his head. " Mind as well git you clean while yer in here." Hunter complained in a low growl but endured as Ellis scrubbed the liquid into his hair and created a frothy covering of bubbles. Soon he had stopped growling and was actually purring quietly at the head massage.

" Nice, huh?" Ellis murmured soothingly. Hunter just continued his purring while Ellis stuck his head under the tap to rinse the suds out of his own hair. " You can do yer own body. Here's the soap." He passed it to him and Hunter promptly dropped it onto the floor of the shower. Ellis burst out laughing, earning himself a reproving glare.

" Rule number one!" Ellis said, still laughing. " Never, _ever_ drop the soap!" Hunter didn't get the joke and just bent down to pick it up again, finding himself face-to-face with Ellis' crotch. He stayed there, staring. " Hey now." Ellis said with a frown. " No need to look so close, bud." Hunter straightened back up with a grumble and what Ellis was sure was a blush.

* * *

><p>" We're clean!" Ellis exclaimed, entering the bedroom feeling refreshed. Nick looked up from a book to stare.<p>

" We?" He questioned, eyes floating over to the Hunter. " Did you seriously shower with that thing?" Ellis shrugged.

" No biggie." He said, flopping onto the bed next to Nick feeling much less self-conscious, even though he was only clad in a pair of shorts. " He needed a good cleanin'." Hunter curled up on a pile of dirty clothes on the floor, pulling his hood tightly around his face. He had quickly retrieved it after stepping out of the shower.

" Whatever." Nick muttered, tossing his book onto the night table. " Should go to sleep." He said, not to anyone in particular. He unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it to the floor, but didn't bother with the jeans, merely slipping underneath the covers with them on. Ellis fiddled with the sheets and followed his lead. He jumped when he felt his bare leg brush up against Nick's clothed one. That was going to be inconvenient in trying to remain calm.

" Um." Ellis said, flipping onto his side to stare at Nick, who glared back, sheets lying loosely around his abdomen. Ellis cleared his throat and tried not to think about how much that made it look like he was naked. '_Not gay_.' Ellis thought to himself. '_I'm not gay.' _" Well, uh, night." He said, pulling the blankets up to his neck and curling up. Nick shrugged and just stared at the ceiling.

" Night, hick."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_I posted again! Even though it was a work day! I think work is actually inspiration though. Like I mentioned before, one of my managers looks EXACTLY like Nick. I can't even believe the similarities. He probably thinks I h_ave _a crush on him or something because I stare at him so much. IT'S JUST MY L4D2 ADDICTION, I PROMISE._

_Had fun writing this. Heeeheee. The funnest parts of writing yaoi is the cute stage where nothing sexual really happens, then slowly builds. The rising action, if you will. _

_By the way, I'm starting school again on the 6th, so I might have less time to write... _

_AAAAND this chapter was filled with references to other things. See how many you can get? I think there's probably three, there's definitely two. (Hint: They're the games. What are the names of the two games? You'll have to figure out which ones I mean.) _

_Thank ya for reading! Reviews fuel my writing hand! (I get a little pang of happiness every time I see one in my inbox.) LOVE Y'ALL. _


	4. Chapter 4

Ellis awoke the next morning feeling very warm and safe. He curled up into a tighter ball against the wall the bed must have been against and sighed happily.

But then the wall moved.

" What are you doing?" Said the wall in a sleepy voice. Ellis opened his eyes and realized the wall was _not_ actually a wall, and was in fact Nick. He was looking over his shoulder at Ellis with a confused, yet cranky, expression.

" Uh." Said Ellis. " Thought you were a wall." Nick rolled his eyes and turned his head back to face away from him.

" So are you going to move?" Nick asked when Ellis just stayed where he was. " Rub my back if you're not." Ellis snorted sleepily.

" I ain't no slave." He mumbled, stretching his legs out. Nick sighed and sat up, running a hand through his hair. " Hey, where ya goin'?" Ellis asked as Nick made to swing his legs over the side of the bed.

" Getting up." He said simply. " My suit is clean and dry by now."

" Don't get up!" Ellis exclaimed to his own surprise. Nick stared at him curiously. " I was comfy." Ellis added on most uncomfortably.

" I might have been too if you had rubbed my back." Said Nick with a chuckle, though he didn't stand up. Ellis bit his lip and frowned.

" Fine." He said. " I'll rub yer back. 'Cause I was comfy n' all." Nick looked pleased with himself as he returned to his previous position, back against Ellis, who didn't move.

" Well?" Nick said at last, sounding amused. " Go ahead." Ellis tentatively stuck a single finger out and poked the place between Nick's shoulder blades, watching the way the muscles in his back contorted as he dragged it downwards.

" Not just one finger, you idiot." Nick hissed, shivering. " I said I wanted a back rub." With a blush, Ellis stuck both of his hands on Nick's back and pushed gently, running his hands over the expanse of skin. Nick sighed happily and twisted so Ellis would have more room to massage. He ran his hands down, feeling the slight dip at the bottom of his spine, and slowly moving back up. Ellis wasn't exactly a masseuse, but Nick didn't seem to care. Nick suddenly reached behind and pulled one of Ellis's hands down to the edge of his pants, which were loose and exposing a pair of baby blue boxers.

" Right there, at the pants line." Nick mumbled into the pillow. Ellis reddened up to the roots of his hair, but obeyed and rubbed the area, thumbs occasionally dipping underneath the jeans to smooth out another stressed knot in the muscle. Nick let out a quiet moan that he didn't seem capable of holding in, and Ellis shot backwards.

" U-Um.. I'm gonna go… uh… breakfast." He stuttered, nearly falling off the bed in his haste to get out of the room. Hunter hissed indignantly when he nearly fell over his curled up figure on the floor. Ellis had completely forgotten that Hunter was lying in the room the whole time. He muttered a quick 'sorry', and shot out of the room, leaving Nick behind looking confused, and Hunter staring curiously between them.

* * *

><p>" What the hell?" Ellis whispered to himself when he had run into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He slid down to lean against the wall and pulled the shorts he was wearing down to his ankles. Sure enough, he was hard. " Shiiiiiiit." He groaned out, banging his head against the wall and staring at the ceiling. He didn't know <em>why<em> he was turned on; well, he would if that had been a _girl_ he was massaging, but it wasn't. It was a man. An _old _man. It was _Nick_ for God's sake! Ellis knew he couldn't walk back out there with a tent in his pants, so he reached down and grabbed himself, preparing for a quick release. He hadn't been able to do such a thing for a _long_ time, usually not feeling in the mood, or just plain not having the privacy. His heart started to beat with that old familiarity that he associated with jerking off as he stroked himself with a sort of frantic insistence.

He was almost at his peak when the door opened and closed, and a now-familiar bathroom intruder was sitting in front of him, watching him with a strange expression. Ellis didn't care at that point, too far gone to stop. He let out an almost pathetic whimper as he finally came, the white sticky liquid landing on Hunter's sweater. Ellis panted as he gave himself a last few finishing strokes, finally just collapsing against the wall and staring at Hunter through half-lidded eyes.

" Sorry." He mumbled. " Ya, uh… ya might wanna wipe that off, or somethin'…" Hunter looked down at himself and pulled his sweater away from his body for further inspection. He stuck a finger in it and held it up to his eyes to stare at it.

" Gross, what're ya doin'?" Ellis demanded, staring at him. He was shocked further when Hunter stuck his finger in his mouth and sucked it all off. He grimaced, however, and decided against doing that again. " We needa find ya another hoodie." Ellis noted, staring at the stain that would have to be washed out. " Here, gimme your sweater, I'll be back in a few minutes." Hunter slowly removed his cherished hoodie, quickly retreating to the shower stall for a bit of shelter from any watching eyes. He really hated being looked at.

Ellis pulled up his shorts after cleaning himself up a bit and left the bathroom, hoodie slung over his arm. Rochelle appeared as he was closing the door, apparently just having woken up.

" Morning Ellis." She smiled. " What're you doing?" He blushed slightly and tried to hide the hoodie behind his back.

" Just goin' to do some laundry." He replied, rocking back on his heels nervously.

" Here, let me do it." Rochelle said, sticking out a hand for the hoodie. " I need to throw some other stuff in the wash anyways."

" No, no, I can do it!" He exclaimed. She rolled her eyes and nabbed the sweater, pulling it away from him with astonishing strength.

" Don't be such a baby." She said. " Is it stained, or is it just-" She stopped when she opened up the sweater to look at it, and saw the very obvious white stuff on it. She stared at it for a few seconds, before turning her head up to Ellis with what he could only describe as a glare. " Explain." She said bluntly.

" I, uh… Well…" He blushed and wrung his hands together behind his back. " Y'see.." She stared back down at the hoodie again and seemed to realize something.

" This is Hunter's." She hissed at him, sounding a lot like the creature she had mentioned. " Would you care to tell me how _this_ got on Hunter's jacket?"

" Aww, Ro, it's embarrassing!" Ellis whined. " He just ran in on me, it was an accident!" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

" Why were you doing that in the first place?" She asked. Ellis turned tomato red as he remembered why he had been in that situation. Nick. If he _dared_ say that, though…

" I was just… y'know…" He wiggled uncomfortably. " It's been a while." Rochelle crossed her arms.

" Been a while since _what_?"

" Ro, stop it!" He replied. " You're not my Ma!" She sighed.

" You're right, I'm sorry." She apologized. " I didn't mean to make you so uncomfortable. Just please try not to make messes like this again, it's embarrassing for _me_ too, you know." She stalked off towards Coach's room where the laundry machines were, leaving Ellis standing awkwardly in the hall.

* * *

><p>" Here, this was the best I could find." Ellis said, returning to the bathroom and throwing a white sweater onto Hunter's face. " It says 'TEAM PINK' on the back, hope ya don't mind too much." Apparently Hunter <em>did<em> mind, from the cranky growls that came out of his mouth as he pulled the sweater over his head. Ellis laughed and left the bathroom with his infected friend at his side.

A simple breakfast was made that morning, dumping stale cereal in bowls without milk. Nobody complained except Hunter, who paced around the kitchen anxiously, wanting to go get something for himself to eat. Ellis had told him to wait, because he was still concerned that he would get hurt if he went off by himself.

" We'll kill plenty for ya, bud." He had told him. This made Hunter even crankier, because he didn't want to be fended for.

The meal was also awkward, with everyone staring at everyone else. Hunter stared at Ellis, who stared at Coach because that was the only place he could look that wasn't embarrassing, Coach stared at all three of them in confusion, and Nick stared at Rochelle who was munching her cereal with a pensive look, staring from Ellis to Hunter and back again.

" Okay, is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" Coach said finally, breaking the silence and laying down his spoon.

" I should ask the same." Nick said, looking a mix between frustrated and confused. They stared at Rochelle and Ellis.

" Hey, nothing!" Rochelle said with an awkward giggle. " Ellis just told me an embarrassing secret." Ellis glared at her, praying she was tactful enough to not share his morning experience.

" Let's hear it, kid!" Coach guffawed, leaning back in his chair. He had been, of course, the first one done his breakfast.

" Did ya have ta' say that?" Ellis frowned at Rochelle, trying to think up a secret that was embarrassing but not _too_ embarrassing. She grinned hugely.

" Oh, it wasn't anything big…" She replied casually, running her finger around the edge of her cereal bowl. " Just that he's… you know…" She chuckled, and Ellis stared at her in confusion, having no idea what she was talking about.

" Gay?" Nick mumbled, mouth full of Fruit Loops. Ellis choked on his food and wound up spitting half of it across the table.

" WHA-?" He yelled. Rochelle's chair tipped back with the force of her laugh.

" Yeah, that!" She giggled. Coach looked at Ellis seriously.

" Now, son," He said. " It could very well be just a stage, don't get ahead of yourself." Rochelle just laughed even harder, getting up to clear the dishes off the table to hide her grinning face.

" She's _joking_!" Ellis exclaimed, glaring at her back which was still shaking with laughter.

" Suuuure." Nick said, handing his bowl to Ro and leaving the table. " I'm going to get the guns ready." He said, walking out of the room. Ellis groaned and put his head on the table.

" Ro, why would ya say that?"

" For fun." She replied with a shrug.

* * *

><p>" Everyone ready?" Coach asked as they stood at the reinforced entrance to the building. " Buddy up, we're going to split up. This town don't seem to have too many infected anyhow. C'mon baby girl." He said to Ro, and they left first, leaving Ellis, Hunter and Nick together. The left in silence, staring around at the desolate town, each with a canvas bag thrown over their shoulder for any supplies they might find.<p>

" So…" Ellis said as they walked, trying to make things less awkward. " What did ya like to do before this whole apocolypse thing happened?" Nick sighed.

" I liked to fuck peoples shit up." He said, staring around moodily. Ellis scratched the back of his head.

" Wha?" He said. " That's not very nice. I liked to do lots a' stuff, though. Like ridin' my pa's tractor, an' hangin' out with Keith doin' stupid stuff. Man, I miss that guy." Nick chuckled quietly.

" What, was he your gay lover? Did you let him call you _'El_'?" Nick clapped his hands together and fluttered his eyelashes.

" Shut up!" Ellis said, blushing again. Sheesh, usually he _never_ blushed. " Keith was jus' my buddy. What's with everyone callin' me gay, anyways?" He huffed. He thought for a moment, and added on, " And I hate that nickname." Nick just shrugged and shot a zombie, making a victory noise when he got a head shot. " Nice shot." Ellis added on grimly.

" First of all, you talk about Keith enough to be married to him, you've never mentioned any girls that you found attractive, even before we entered this shit-storm, you're too attractive to actually be straight, because that seems to bend some divine rule, and you take showers with guys." He nudged his head towards Hunter, who was bouncing happily on the roof of the buildings to their right. " Oh, and you said I could call you El when I met you, remember? At the hotel?"

" Yeah, well, I still don't like it none!" Ellis pulled an axe off his hip and hit a zombie in the gut with it. " And yer not bein' fair! Hunter ain't even interested in that stuff." He said, regretting the situation when he immediately began to think of all the times Hunter had done strange things. " Also, you just called me attractive." Nick backed up, stumbling over his words slightly.

" Yeah, well, anybody can see that." He defended himself. " Doesn't mean anything."

" Don't it?" Ellis mumbled to himself. Nick stopped suddenly, and turned Ellis around to face him.

" Look, hick," He growled. " What's your problem? Spit it out."

" I don't have no problem!" Ellis said, squirming uncomfortably under Nick's hands. " It's you with the problem!"

" Oh?" Hissed Nick, stepping forwards another step so his face was right in front of Ellis.

" Yeah." Ellis said, struggling to remain coherent. " Y-Yer weird, n' ya say stuff that makes _me_ feel weird." He blushed when he thought about what he had just blurted. Nick, however, just looked confused.

" What?" He questioned. " Weird how?" Ellis looked down, anything to avoid Nick's face.

" Well…" He said. " Like what ya said 'bout Hunter." He scanned the roof for his friend, pleased to see that he was occupied with munching on a dead ladies arm. Nick stared at him intently before releasing him. Ellis let out a breath of relief; he hadn't really told the truth. Sure, what he said about Hunter had been mildly strange, but the things that really got him were the things he said about Ellis. Nobody _else_ ever called him attractive, except for that one girl in high school that had a crush on him. Plus that whole sex conversation they had had before arriving in this town.

" Come on, let's just get this over with." Nick said, continuing walking. Ellis followed silently until they reached a small convenience store. Ellis peered in and shot the two infected in there with his pistol easily.

" Might be somethin' in here." He noted, walking inside the dark store with Nick following behind him. Hunter was still out, well, hunting. Ellis left Nick to examine the cash register and shelves behind it, and instead went to investigate the back room. There wasn't much in it. It seemed mostly dedicated to being a staff room, with a couch and table shoved in. There was some ammo on the counter next to an exact replica of Ellis' pistol, so he put the bullets into his bag and continued looking around. It was very dark in the room, as it didn't have any windows, and the only light was coming in from the doorway.

Suddenly the little light that was there dimmed, and when Ellis turned to see what had happened he saw Nick standing in the doorway. He gulped and turned away again, heart beating. He felt very vulnerable in this dark room, alone with Nick. Not even Hunter was there to help.

Ellis yelped when he felt his shoulder being grabbed.

" You're starting to piss me off." Nick said, staring him in the eyes, green to blue. " Why do you keep doing that?"

" Doin' what?" Ellis breathed, hardly daring to move.

" Putting yourself in _this_ situation." Nick snapped, gesturing with his free arm around the room. " Dark room, all alone, bending over to pick up something off the floor?"

" I don't know what ya-"

" I think you understand, even if you're an innocent little country hick." Nick whispered. " Are you trying to seduce me or some shit?" If Ellis thought he had been blushing earlier, it was nothing to what he was doing now.

" N-No!" He said. " I mean, I'm not _tryin' _to or nothin'!" He gasped as he was suddenly pushed against the wall.

" Why don't we just get this out of our systems?" Nick suggested quietly, breath tickling Ellis' throat. " I know you want it, and I know I fucking _need_ it, so let's just do it already."

" Um." Ellis said brilliantly. " I don't know if I really want-"

" It's a little late for that now, El." Nick hissed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_I feel like a horrible person. I was picturing my manager the entire time I wrote this, giggling my head off. Oooohhh, man. Also I put my iTunes on shuffle and just wrote while listening to whatever came on. (As opposed to all the RENT music I've been listening to lately.) That made things interesting. First I was at "Welcome to the Jungle", and the next second " 3" by Britney Spears. Needless to say, I was amused._

_Uh, well, I enjoyed writing this chapter. Trying to get a chapter out every day that I'm not working. This one is slightly shorter than the other chapters, so I apologize. I just really wanted to end it there. Get you all pent up and such. _

_Review Fun: So, I thought I'd start asking a question for my readers every chapter. Today's question is, " If you could make any fictional character become real, who would it be?" My answer? Ellis. Because my manager is already Nick, so all I need is an Ellis to top things off. And yes, I will mention my boss in every single chapter. In fact, here's a brief bonus story about him._

* * *

><p><em><em>" You know Michael, the guy that manages that other section of the store? He looks like someone." Said I, casually hanging manly tight-whities on the rack.

" Who?" Replied my co-worker, apologizing as she hit me in the face with a particularly flamboyant pair of underwear. I thought for a minute, wondering just how nerdy it would be to answer truthfully.

" He looks like Nick from Left 4 Dead." I confessed finally. " I can't stop picturing him as anything else." She gasped and quickly peered over her shoulder to see if he had mysteriously appeared in the unmentionables department.

" He _does_!" She exclaimed.

" I should buy him a white suit." I said, snickering, as he usually just wore jeans and a polo. " Then he'd really be Nick."

" How are you going to figure out his size?" She asked, giggling. " Creep?"

" Well..." I said, pondering her question. " I am thinking that if I can find Nick's suit size, it will also fit Michael. Because Michael is Nick."

And for the rest of that underwear tagging and hanging day, we snorted whenever that manager walked by.

_The End._

* * *

><p><em>WAS IT BEAUTIFUL? Sorry about that, at least the document isn't as short now, right? I cannot believe I just wrote that. The above actually did happen. This is all true. Including the underwear and flamboyant tighty-whities. We sell bright orange ones. I'm talking neon.<em>

_Anyways, thanks for putting up with my craziness! Love y'all! Review and answer my questions and show me the love! Ciao!_


	5. Chapter 5

" It's a little late for that now, El." Nick hissed. Ellis' heart was pounding, and he was sure that Nick must have been able to hear it, or surely see it through his shirt.

" We shouldn't-" He tried to protest, but the rest of his words were transformed into a gasp when Nick stuck his knee in between Ellis' legs and ground up against him. He leaned forwards and took Ellis' earlobe into his mouth, biting gently.

" Shouldn't what?" Nick whispered, hand sliding it's way under Ellis' shirt. Ellis bit his lip and tried to lean away, finding himself trapped between a wall and a hard place. And by hard place, he meant…

" Ahh." Ellis groaned, feeling Nick's erection rub up against the front of his coveralls, and feeling himself start to harden in response. Nick didn't fail to notice this, and the hand that wasn't up Ellis' shirt drifted south to slip into his bottoms, stroking him until he was fully aroused, which didn't take long.

" Either you're a whore or a liar, which is it?" Nick said. " You said you didn't want this, didn't you?" Ellis just panted, now struggling to hold himself up against the wall. Nick grabbed the younger mans hand and guided it to the front of his own suit pants, pressing it eagerly against himself. Ellis unbuttoned the pants clumsily and slid them down slightly, reaching forwards almost subconsciously to grasp Nick's arousal. Nick laid his head on Ellis' shoulder and pushed their bodies closer together, hands almost hitting each other as they went about their motions.

" At the same time." Nick moaned, reaching to stroke the both of them at the same time with his hand. Ellis found himself pushing into the contact, struggling to keep his sounds within himself. It wasn't g working well, and Nick seemed to get more and more excited every time he let loose a sound. Ellis knew somewhere in the back of his head that this wasn't right and he'd regret it _pretty damn soon, _but for now he was just thinking with lower half and enjoying it while it lasted.

" Nick, I'm gonna-" Ellis ground his teeth together, but Nick got the message.

" Go ahead." He whispered. That was all Ellis needed to be pushed over the edge, and he was seeing white and making white at the same time. Nick followed straight after, conveniently moving so he wouldn't make a mess over Ellis' clothes. Ellis couldn't have cared less at that very moment, but he would realize later that if Rochelle had seen him with come on his clothes… It wouldn't be good.

" Oh lord." Ellis panted, sliding down the wall to the floor. Nick went with him, breathing heavily and leaning on Ellis. There was silence as they slowly came down from their highs, and Nick was the first to stand and make himself look presentable. Ellis sighed and followed suit, feeling nervous about what Nick might say.

" Let's go meet the others." He said simply, adjusting his jacket slightly and leaving the room. Ellis frowned. That was it? Surely there was something else to be said. Then again, what could possibly _be_ said after something like that?

" Wait up!" Ellis called, running after him. Nick stopped and waited outside the store, fiddling with his gun absentmindedly.

" _Now_ let's go." He said impatiently. Ellis nodded awkwardly and followed him.

* * *

><p>" Did you two find anythin' interestin'?" Coach asked when they met up in front of their safe house again. Hunter was ignoring them all but Ellis, who he was offering a piece of a leg to.<p>

" No thanks buddy." He said, making a face at the human meat. " And kinda, I guess. We got some food n' stuff."

" Bullets?" Rochelle asked. Nick nodded and opened his canvas bag, exposing a large amount of ammo.

" I got some fer my pistol, but not really anythin' else." Ellis said. " What are we doing for the rest of today?" Coach rubbed his chin thoughtfully when they all turned to him for his opinion.

" I think," He said. " That we should try to hunt down a car that we can hot-wire." Ellis did a silent fist-pump behind Coach's back, and Rochelle struggled not to snort.

" How far away is our next stop?" Nick asked, shaking his leg as Hunter tried to sniff up it. " Stop that." He muttered.

" 'Bout 160 miles. Too far to walk reasonably." Coach opened the door to their temporary home and dumped the supplies he had on his back onto a table in the room. " Everyone put your finds here, we're gonna go look for a vehicle." They all did as he asked and left again, this time staying together as a pack and looking for a car that wasn't trashed. Ellis' face lit up when he saw a big black SUV parked on the side of a street. It was scratched and had a couple of dents, but wasn't horribly destroyed.

" Lemme look at this one!" He yelled happily, running up to it.

" Good one, sport. This thing is built like a tank." Coach said, running his hand over the side. He opened the door, thankful that they were spared the trouble of having to unlock them. The interior was nice as well; pale gray seats with lots of leg room, and a nice wide trunk that would easily fit all their supplies, even the new things they had acquired. Nick slipped into the passenger seat, stretching out luxuriously. He sighed.

" Now I could deal with this for a while." He said, investigating the various buttons around him. While the others explored the SUV however, Ellis opened the hood of the vehicle and dug around underneath. He emerged with a grin on his face.

" It's all good!" He exclaimed. " As long as I can git' it to start and we have gas, it'll get us where we wanna go." Coach nodded his appreciation, relaxing in the back seat with Rochelle. Ellis set about hot wiring the car, and gave a whoop a while later when had had fixed it up.

" We're doin' pretty good!" He commented, looking at the gauges. " Gas tank is about ¾ full."

" Drive us back home, sweetie?" Rochelle asked with a smile. Ellis' grin grew as he hit the gas and whipped the SUV around to head towards their house.

" Man, I've missed this!" Ellis laughed as he drove recklessly through the city, occasionally swerving to hit a zombie like he was playing a video game. Nick was holding the armrests like they'd save his life, and the other two were pressed flat against their seats, looks of horror on their faces. Ellis remembered something suddenly and hammered on the breaks. The vehicle slammed to a stop and something went flying off the top.

" Where's Hunter?" Ellis asked, then realized that the thing that had flew off the SUV had _been_ Hunter, who had been hanging onto the top and had been wrenched free by Ellis' alarming stop. Hunter growled crankily as he crawled back towards them, untangling himself from a pile of limbs that he had landed in. " Sorry!" Ellis called, rolling down the window. " Get on back up, I won't do that again." Hunter ignored him and opened the back door, crawling in and sitting on the floor between the seats, hugging his knees to his chest and glaring at Ellis, who laughed.

" Let's go!" He yelled, stepping on the gas again.

By the time they got home, everyone was quite frazzled. Rochelle was holding her temples like she had a migraine, Coach was silent, staring at the death-trap of a vehicle, and it took several minutes to coax Nick out of the front seat, and even when he was out, there were nail marks in the armrests.

" Where the hell did you learn to drive?" Nick panted, one hand on the wall of their safe house, the other on his hip, head dangling down as he tried to calm down. He disliked reckless driving.

" My Pa." Ellis said cheerfully, double checking under the hood again before leaving his baby beside the house.

" Let's get some dinner into us." Coach suggested, speaking up. Ellis, significantly more happy, walked inside perkily. Hunter followed him, and then stopped him at the bottom of the stairs.

" Guu… Guu.." He said, pointing at his back. " Gee.. Gee… Tu. Oh. Oh. On." He struggled, but Ellis actually understood him. He gasped.

" Ya spoke!" He cheered. " Ya actually spoke, buddy!" Coach clapped Hunter on the back as he went up the stairs past them.

" Good on ya." He said, but his mind was clearly preoccupied with food.

" Get on?" Ellis said, as the Hunter repeated his sounds. He nodded, pointing at his back again.

" Why?" Asked the country boy. Hunter made a sighing noise.

" Fuh… Fffffun." He hissed out. Rochelle laughed when Ellis immediately took up Hunter on the offer, scrambling onto his back and holding onto his shoulders.

" S'kinda like ridin' a horse or somethin'." Ellis mentioned thoughtfully. " But more like a frog, I guess." Hunter rolled his eyes and settled into his usual crouch. Ellis hadn't noticed before that Hunter was actually almost the same size as he was; he just seemed shorter because he was always crawling around. Size aside, Hunter didn't seem to have any trouble holding him.

" Yee-haw!" Ellis yelled, and Hunter bounced up half the stairs in one leap, a deep growl of amusement coming from him. They made it to the top in half the time it would have taken Ellis, and Hunter didn't stop there.

" What're ya doin', buddy?" Ellis laughed as Hunter bounced around the apartment with Ellis on him, pushing off walls and bounding down the hallway. " Okay, okay, time to stop!" Ellis said at last. Hunter obliged and let Ellis slip off his back.

" Come on now, Ellis! Your food is gettin' cold." Coach said, laying a bowl of pasta on the table and settling himself in to a particularily large bowl. Ellis sat down at his side of the circular table and scooped some noodles into his mouth.

" Tha' was fun." He said with his mouth half-full, grateful that Rochelle was in the bathroom and therefore couldn't scold him. " Can we do that outside sometime?" Hunter nodded, leaning back against the wall of the kitchen comfortably.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day was spent lazily, all of them agreeing that they needed a day off before their trek to the next city, which was significantly larger than this one. There would be more infected, and they'd likely run into Tanks and Witches; everyone was trying not to think about it. Instead, they all settled in for a few movies, each getting to pick one. Rochelle picked a romantic drama, and Ellis found himself turning into a pile of mush watching it. Nick and Coach looked rather bored and unaffected, but Ellis was clutching Rochelle, her doing the same in return, both with tears in their eyes.<p>

" Will he live?" Ellis asked tearfully, eyes not leaving the screen for a second. " Oh man, he's hurt some bad! Don't die, she _needs_ you! She's pregnant with yer baby, ya just don't know it!" Nick sighed and rolled his eyes.

" Jesus, they can't hear you. Anyways, all these movies are the same." He said, arms crossed.

" Oh, watch a lot of romance movies, Nick?" Rochelle commented, letting out a fresh sob as the female character embraced her dying love.

" Maybe I do." Nick said defensively. " Got a problem with that?" Rochelle shrugged.

" Well, I guess not. I knew you were gay, but man, Nick-" She stopped speaking when everyone stared at her in shock. " What?" She said. " Didn't you tell… them…?" Her face went blank. " Ooooh Shiiiiiiit. My bad. Uh, I didn't say nothing." There was an awkward silence, then…

" I'm not… gay…" Nick said, teeth clenched together.

" There ain't nothin' wrong with it." Ellis piped up, curious to hear Nick say more. " But didn't you have a wife before? What's that all about?"

" She was a cover up, obviously." Rochelle commented, turning off the movie, the end credits having shown up on the screen. " Lots of gay guys have hot girlfriends and stuff."

" Look, look, look," Coach interrupted, pushing his way into the conversation. " Why do we always get into these conversations? Man belongs with women, that's it." He said stubbornly. Ellis stared at him, a frown on his face. He had been raised by religious parents, and he knew all about the issue with homosexuality and religion, but he had mostly ignored it. Or tried to. Coach, he knew, had also been raised Catholic, and he was clearly firm to his belief.

" Don't be mean, Coach." Ellis said to him. Coach just shook his head.

" I ain't gonna hate anyone for it or anythin', but it just ain't… right." He said, standing up. " I'm going to bed." Nick opened his mouth to say something, but Rochelle beat him to it.

" Sorry I said that." She said. " Didn't think you'd object."

" Are you really gay, Nick?"

" 'Course he is! How could he not be?"

" Would anyone fucking _listen_ to me?" Nick snapped all of a sudden, standing up and shouting at them. " You haven't listened to a word I've said! I'm _not_ gay." He ran a hand through his hair and turned towards the bedroom. " Oh, and Ellis can sleep on the couch if you're concerned about him sleeping with me." He added on, loud enough that Coach could hear him in his bedroom. He walked into his shared bedroom and slammed the door shut. Rochelle turned to stare sympathetically at Ellis.

" Sorry hun. I put him in a bad mood. Now you'll get the brunt of it." She turned to stare at the door again. " Want to sleep out here?" She whispered.

" No." He said simply, standing up and walking towards the bedroom. " Night, Ro." He walked inside, closing the door behind him. Hunter didn't follow, for once. Ellis stood in front of the door for a moment, staring at Nick on the bed, hand over his eyes despite the fact that it was dark in the room.

" Hi." Ellis said, walking forwards and sitting on the edge of the bed. " You alright?"

" Duh." Nick said, sitting up and glaring at him. " But Coach isn't going to look at me the same no matter what I say." Ellis chewed his lip.

" Maybe he'll come 'round?" He suggested. " And if he don't, I'll just say I'm gay too, or somethin'. Then he's gotta accept it." Nick chuckled, pulling off his suit jacket and folding it carefully upon the night table.

" You don't even need to pretend." He replied. " You _are_ gay."

" Well, are _you_?" Ellis asked, folding his hands in his lap and staring at Nick for his reaction. He was surprised that Nick didn't answer right away.

" What does sexuality matter anyways?" He sighed. " I'm going to read for a while." He finished folding his suit bottoms on the night table and lay down, pulling a novel up from the side of the bed. Ellis frowned and lay back on his side of the bed, staring over at him.

" I wanna know." He said. " I mean, you didn't mind what we, uh… did today." Nick grimaced at the awkwardness.

" Yeah, neither did you. How long has it been since we've had any kind of relief?" Ellis squirmed, and Nick turned to stare at him. " What?"

" Well, uh… I had some relief this morning." He blushed, staring down at his knees.

" Of course." Nick rolled his eyes, continuing to read.

" But I ain't never had sex." Ellis whispered suddenly. Nick twitched almost violently.

" And?" He hissed, keeping his eyes trained on his book. Ellis shrugged, then pulled off his hat and laid it beside the bed.

" Dunno." He replied. " Just sayin', is all." A silence followed, and Ellis' mind went a little more wild than he had expected. A few minutes passed, and he was gritting his teeth to try to stop his mental images before they got completely out of control.

" Nick?" He asked. Nick frowned.

" Yeah?"

" Can we do it?" Ellis gulped; his mind had decided almost of it's own accord. Nick didn't even look up from his book, however.

" No." He said firmly, glaring at the pages.

" Please?"

" No."

" Pretty please with _cherries_?" Ellis said, almost wanting to just jump out the window for begging for such a thing. Nick snorted.

" With cherries?" He said. " There wouldn't be any cherries afterwards, virgin boy." Ellis scowled, but Nick didn't budge on his decision.

" No." He just repeated over and over. Ellis crawled over and plopped himself in his lap, pushing the book to the side.

" I _want_ to." He snapped, grinding his hips down on Nick's, who hissed.

" Fuck, what are you doing?"

" Forget regret, or life is yours to miss." Ellis quoted from somewhere in the back of his head, grinding down again.

" Are you _hard_?" Nick asked in disbelief, looking down at the crotch of Ellis' coveralls. " I haven't even touched you."

" I said I want to." Ellis growled insistently. " So just fuck me already, please."

" You are_ so_ going to regret this." Nick replied.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Oh dear gawd, hi guys. I know, I know, I'm ridiculous. I just need to get this out of the way. I'll tell you a bit of my plan, since some seem concerned that this isn't going to be HunterxEllis._

_See, I enjoy horny Nick and Ellis. I also love Ellis on the bottom, but I don't like him on the bottom with Hunter. So, rather than write an entire new story, I'll just plop some Nellis lemons in here to keep you busy. There's no real great emotional attachment to Nick from Ellis, aside from his usual hero-worship routine. Ellis and Hunter are special because it's a lot more complicated, and I can make some fun emotional stuff._

_Also, yes, I enjoy making poor Nick gay as a fruitcake. Which, in case you haven't noticed, he is in this story. At least bi. But probably gay. Ellis is bi, for sure. (Don't worry, I ain't stickin' no lady sex in here nowhere.) _

_Uh, well, not much else to say. I worked today, but it's Sunday, and Nick-Manager isn't there on weekends. Too bad. I'll get to fangirl on Thursday though. PLUS school starts on Tuesday. Busy busy busy, guys. But I'll try to keep up. I need time to myself anyways._

_Why do these A/N's always turn out so long? Baw. Anyways, love you all, loved the response I got from last chapters reviews! They were awesome, thanks! Keep em' comin!_

_Review Fun: What would you do in my position, with a boss that looks like Nick?_

_PS: Can you find the reference in here? Hint: It relates to the title.  
><em>


	6. Chapter 6

" Just do it." Ellis shifted his hips down again, and Nick grimaced uncomfortably as Ellis' crotch grinded into his own.

" Ahh, fuck it." Nick finally muttered, pulling Ellis down to him and ripping his yellow t-shirt off. He put his lips on Ellis' chest and looked up at him, slowly dragging his kisses downwards until he could no longer reach, which was when Ellis slid himself backwards and lay in alignment with Nick's body, attaching his mouth to Nick's throat. Nick moaned quietly, and Ellis grinned to himself, running his hand over the front of Nick's boxers.

" Look who's all in the dominant spirit." Nick panted with a chuckle, moving his leg so Ellis had better access. Ellis shrugged and smiled.

" Didn't I say I wasn't no bottom?" He replied cheerfully. Nick snorted and sat up, pushing Ellis down onto the bed underneath him playfully.

" You think I am?" He laughed quietly, reaching down and quickly untying the sleeves that Ellis kept tied around his waist to keep his coveralls up. Ellis lifted his bottom to help Nick remove them, and they were soon discarded on the floor with his t-shirt.

" Last chance." Nick mumbled against the skin of Ellis' throat.

" To what?" Ellis replied in a sigh, stretching out so Nick could reach more skin.

" To run away." Nick grinned and reached around Ellis to grope his butt to emphasize his point. Ellis gasped, but didn't make any move away from Nick, who just shrugged and tugged off his boxers quickly, reaching down to stroke Ellis slowly afterwards.

" Too slow." Ellis groaned, twisting his body around for more contact. Nick ignored Ellis' insistence and kept up his agonizing pace until Ellis let out a whine that made him harden up completely. " I'm trying to be sensitive you slutty fucker. It's your first time." Nick hissed. Ellis just glared at him.

" Who cares 'bout that sappy stuff? That's for girls." Nick just shook his head and sighed.

" One second." He said, leaning to the side and digging around inside the night table.

" I knew this was a teenagers room." He muttered to himself when he finally seemed to find what he had been searching for. A bottle of clear liquid was in his hand, and he squeezed a small amount on his hand.

" What's that?" Ellis asked. His question was answered when Nick rubbed some around Ellis' entrance with a raised eyebrow. He bit his lip when Nick stuck the first finger inside of him slowly. He wiggled around; it felt very strange.

" You okay?" Nick asked, staring Ellis in the eyes as he added a second finger. Ellis scrunched his face up.

" Knew this was weird." He stated, still struggling to get used to the feeling of having something inside of him. " You seem pretty informed on this though, gotta say." Nick shrugged, making his fingers twist around randomly inside of him. Ellis let out an involuntary groan and his arms pushed his torso off the bed in shock. " The Hell?" He breathed out, confused.

" Oh, right there?" Nick grinned, repeating the action. Ellis bit his lip and let his head hang back. He couldn't believe he was actually _enjoying_ this. Mostly he wanted to do it because, well, he was horny and bored. And Ellis loved new experiences. Nick added a third finger, but was having difficulty maneuvering them properly. Ellis thanked whatever was up in the sky for the lube; he probably would have died if he had to have done it dry.

" More." Ellis groaned out. " I want ya now." Nick didn't hesitate to remove his digits and line himself up against Ellis, who waited anxiously.

" One second." Nick said, reaching for the lube again and rubbing it onto his member. " Ready?" He asked, pushing gently against Ellis who let out a quiet groan and twisted his hips around, finding himself wanting Nick inside of him. He glanced up, embarrassed, at Nick and tried to make his usual cheeky grin.

" Yeah, go." He panted. If Nick wasn't turned on before that, he definitely was now. Ellis trying to give that cocky smile while he was spreading his legs, all sweaty and horny-

" Will do." Nick replied, moving himself forwards and pushing inside slowly. Ellis' fingers clutched at the blankets, and his toes curled in the air. " Does it hurt?" Nick asked, stopping when he was fully inside, wincing from the effort of not moaning in pleasure.

" Yeah, kinda." Said Ellis, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. " But keep going, I'm fine." Nick pulled out and pushed back in again, still trying his best to move slowly. He repeated the action, and after about 5 thrusts, Ellis started to moan again.

" Jesus, Ellis, you're tight as _fuck_." Nick hissed, grabbing Ellis' leg and pulling it over his shoulder. Ellis was moaning too much to answer, and instead stared at him with half-lidded eyes. Nick couldn't believe what was happening; that morning had been crazy enough, but now he was actually _screwing_ Ellis?

" Hey, Nick." Ellis murmured. Nick felt too preoccupied to reply, so he merely made eye contact, mouth hanging open as he breathed heavily.

" Ya ever been a bottom?" Ellis asked, the middle of his question punctuated with a gasp as Nick hit a particularily pleasurable spot.

" W-What?" Nick replied, confused. " Is it the time, Ellis? Ahh, fuck." He hung his head, sweat beading on his forehead. He wouldn't last much longer, and Hell if he came first. He reached forwards and grabbed Ellis' neglected erection, stroking it in time with his thrusts.

" M-Might as well ask now." Ellis stuttered, mind falling apart as two pleasures were combined.

" Yes, I have, now shut up." Nick panted. Ellis half obeyed; nobody could say he had stopped making noises, but he had stopped _speaking_. His quiet moans had escalated, and now sounded like shouts.

" N-Nick, gonna come!" Ellis cried out, curling his toes in the air. Nick kissed the calf over his shoulder as assent, lifting himself up more to get a better angle into the country hick.

" Ahhh!" Ellis yelled suddenly, arching his back and clenching the sheets as he covered Nick's chest and his own with sticky liquid. Nick came almost simultaneously, managing to pull out halfway so he wouldn't fill up Ellis and make him uncomfortable. They laid in a sticky, post-orgasm mess, each taking their time to catch their breath. It took Ellis longer, since he had to come to terms with what he had just done.

" Well?" Nick asked finally, grabbing a box of tissues from the end table and wiping himself and Ellis off. Ellis stayed silent. Well? What was he supposed to say? He was having a bit of an internal battle.

" I guess… Felt good." He muttered, running a hand through his hair with a confused expression. Nick stared curiously at him as he pulled his boxers back on.

" What's up?" He asked. Ellis shrugged and sighed, pulling his own bottoms on to cover up his naked body.

" Just feels weird, y'know?" He replied. " First time doing somethin' you didn't think you'd ever be doin'. Jesus, imagine Keith's reaction." He shook his head, a grin growing on his face. " Man, he'd die. Laughin', I s'pose, but still. Guess he was dared to stick his hand down Dave's pants tha' one time, but I guess I really went all out." He snuggled under the covers comfortably. As usual, talking was making him feel better. " Ma would probably give me this stern look, not that I'd ever tell her." He fluffed his pillow thoughtfully. " Pa would give me a good slap, I bet. He ain't so cool with this stuff." Nick chuckled, and Ellis stared at him curiously.

" I told my parents what I was doing." He said with a grin. " In fact, I let them, my Dad specifically, catch me with a guy. Oh, his face. I'll never forget it."

" Ya had a boyfriend?" Asked Ellis. Nick generally didn't open up about his past, and he wanted to learn more.

" Not really." Nick said with a shrug. " Just a couple people that I got with sometimes."

" Did you lose your virginity with em'?" Ellis questioned.

" Yeah, but it wasn't anything special." Nick replied, turning on his side and closing his eyes, looking close to sleep.

" That's kinda sad." Ellis said.

" You lost yours with _me_, Overalls." Nick said, rolling his eyes. " Now _that's _sad."

* * *

><p>Ellis woke up the next morning sore, but not unbearably so. He stretched and winced as he felt the ache in his bottom half. Nick was snoring away next to him peacefully; perhaps the only time he was ever peaceful. Ellis sat up and watched him for a few minutes, still feeling a sort of euphoria from the night before. It had been more than he had expected, but also less, in a way. It was nothing against Nick's sexual prowess, because he was clearly experienced, but Ellis felt as though he had been let down in a way. He had thought he might have been feeling something for Nick, but he felt the same as he always had. A sort of morbid curiosity about Nick, but nothing more than that. He prayed that Nick didn't have any sort of crazy feelings for him that he'd have to battle.<p>

Nick grumbled in his sleep and turned over, rolling onto Ellis who was sitting cross legged on his side of the bed. Nick opened his eyes sleepily and let them roam over the room with his usual cranky expression.

" Mornin' sleeping beauty." Ellis commented with a grin. Nick frowned and rolled back onto his own side, sitting up and trying to flatten down his hair.

" Whatever." He said. " I'm hungry." Ellis snorted.

" Yessir, Miss PMS. Let's get somethin'." Nick just shrugged and slipped out of bed, pulling on his blue dress shirt and white suit bottoms. Ellis just pulled on his coveralls, tying the sleeves around his waist. He didn't care about being shirtless. They left the room together and found a most unpleasant looking guest sitting outside the door.

Hunter growled when they walked out, looking especially nastily at Nick.

" Hey, buddy." Ellis said cheerfully, reaching down to pinch his nose teasingly, but Hunter snarled and crawled away into the kitchen.

" What's with him?" Nick asked, watching the form retreat like an oversized cat. " He's acting bitchier than me." Ellis just shrugged, and they followed the infected into the kitchen, where two other people were sitting at the table. One looked uncomfortable, the other downright upset. However, what was strange was that it was _Coach_ that seemed to be angry.

" Mornin'." Ellis said, barely noticing the tense situation as he went to pour some cereal out for himself. He was aware of all eyes on him as he dropped his spoon on the floor, and he bent to pick it up self-consciously, uttering a little 'ow' when he felt a small twinge of pain in his rear from the action.

" Yeah, that would hurt, wouldn't it, Ellis?" Coach snapped, crossing his arms. Rochelle glared at him, but Ellis just looked at him, confused.

" Whaddya mean?" He asked, walking over to the table. Nick stood in the doorframe, his stomach dropping with anxiety. Rochelle interrupted Coach when he tried to speak.

" Honey," She said, laying her hand on Ellis'. " You're not exactly, um, quiet. You were especially loud, er, last night." Ellis' jaw dropped, and he started babbling in shock.

" I- Uh- What? No, that's, um…" He struggled to think up an excuse.

" I never thought ya would do somethin' like that, Ellis." Said Coach, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. " And with _Nick_? For God's sake, Ellis, you even locked Hunter out of the room." Hunter growled at this, glaring at Ellis, then at Nick, who got a very dirty look indeed. Nick scowled.

" Not your business, Coach." Said Nick, crossing his arms across his chest stubbornly. " Keep your religious shit to yourself." Coach started to say something, but Rochelle intercepted him once again.

" Please, Coach, let it go. You have no place in their bedroom, whatever they're doing." She pleaded, staring him down. He stayed quiet with a very fixed frown on his face.

" I think differently." He mumbled, standing up. " I'm goin' to start gettin' ready to go later on." Nobody made to stop him as he left the room, brushing past Nick almost rudely.

" Buddy, would ya stop ignorin' me?" Ellis exclaimed later that day as he struggled to get Hunter to look at him. " You're bein' worse than Coach! C'mon! I'm sorry I locked ya out!" Hunter snarled to himself.

" SSsss… Ssseeex." He hissed out. Ellis blushed tremendously and tried to hide it while he packed canned food into a box, but Hunter noticed it and snarled again.

" Well, I wanted to!" Ellis defended. " For something new, y'know? I don't actually _love _Nick or anything." Hunter shrugged his shoulders, but seemed to forgive him, sighing and turning to face him. " Car?" He asked, eyes flickering towards the boarded up windows. Ellis nodded, excitement returning. He really loved cars. He was a mechanic for a reason.

" Yeah, we're going to drive today. Awesome, right?" Hunter just shook his head and managed to look sick, despite the fact that he was, well, infected. " I'll take that as a yes." Ellis laughed. Hunter chuckled and helped Ellis pack cans away, in a much improved mood, though there was a slight irritation in the way he passed things to Ellis, and he certainly didn't let Nick get anywhere near his human.

" You've got a bodyguard." Nick stated, rolling his eyes after Hunter hissed when he had tried to shake Ellis' shoulder.

" Cool." Ellis said casually. " I'm going to give the SUV a look-over now, before we leave. The stuff in it?" Nick nodded, so Ellis followed him down the stairs with Hunter following closely behind. Ellis popped the hood and made an evaluation; everything seemed to be in place, and everyone was standing beside the vehicle, waiting for his professional analysis. They assumed he had gotten certified to be a mechanic; Ellis neglected to mention that he had just taken shop class in high school and started working on cars from there.

" Looks good." He said finally, wiping his grease-blackened hands on his pants, leaving smears down them. He wasn't affected; they had looked like that everyday when he worked at the garage, and he sort of missed the look.

" Alright," Said Rochelle, slipping into the backseat. " Let's go, and Ellis sweetie?" Ellis sat in the front seat and Hunter quickly snapped up the passenger seat, snarling as Nick automatically went for it.

" Yeah, Ro?" Ellis asked, firing up the vehicle.

" Please don't kill us all."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Hi again everyone! Short-ish chapter. I really wanted to get it out. My busy schedule might mean shorter chapters if you want them on a fairly frequent basis. Which I want. Anyways, I had fun writing this part. Tried my best not to picture Nick-Boss, but failed. I'll never be able to look at him the same again._

_Oh yeah, great reviews last chapter, keep em' up! I particularly enjoyed the one demanding I tell Nick-Boss hello for them. I'm considering doing it. If he wasn't so terrifying, I definitely would. Everyone in our store gets a special supervisor on Saturday though, so maybe he'll be mine. That would be AMAZING. I'd be so unbelievably amused. And of course, you'd all be hearing about it. _

_I'm busy busy busy, guys! Piano lessons, school, work, and all my usual at-home stuff like writing! Tough stuff! Keep my spirits up, you know what I love! I drop everything to read your reviews. If I ever get famous for some ungodly reason, I will mention every one of you. Although frankly, I don't think I'll mention what I was writing. Awkward. _

_Review Fun: Do you like Ellis or Hunter on top? What about for Nick and Ellis? You obviously know my answers._

_Ciao! _

_~ Friendly Neighborhood FantasticPhantomAuthor._


	7. Chapter 7

The ride to the next town became boring rather fast, even for Ellis, who was still driving like a maniac. They all seemed to have gotten used to it except for Hunter, who sat in the front seat with his nails digging into the leather.

"Easy there." Ellis chuckled, glancing to the side. Hunter growled to himself and peered out of the window of the SUV, staring sullenly at the scenery as it whizzed past. Nick had somehow managed to fall asleep in the back, Rochelle was sewing up a hole in one of the shirts she had retrieved from the previous town, and Coach was sitting with his arms crossed. He still seemed upset over what Ellis had done with Nick. Ellis' tightened his grip on the steering wheel when he remembered that. It had been so… so… inexplicable. He had _enjoyed_ it.

"Hey, Hunter." Ellis said suddenly, a question popping into his head. Hunter turned to stare at him from under his hoodie (which was freshly washed and even had the rips repaired, thanks to Rochelle and her handy sewing kit) with an apprehensive expression.

"Nyyuuuh?" He managed to get out, his own version of 'What?'.

"Do infected… Er…" Ellis paused, thinking of how to word his question. "Do ya zombies n' stuff reproduce… or anythin'?" Rochelle paused in her sewing and leaned forwards curiously to hear the answer. She was always out for facts and answers; working with the news had made her that way. Hunter, however, didn't seem to like the question, and turned to glare out the window.

"Whaaaat?" Ellis whined. "I just wanna know. Like, do ya get them urges like humans do?" Rochelle raised an eyebrow at him, and he rolled his eyes. She was obviously thinking of Ellis. She had come to believe over the last few days that he was a sex-driven individual. Hunter sighed.

"Y-Yeeeeessss, nn' nooo." Said Hunter, awkwardly pronouncing the words. Ellis nodded, urging him on. Hunter picked at a spot on his pants. "Nnnno b-ba-babiesss yyyet."

"But ya'll actually still feel that kinda stuff?" Ellis asked, swerving the vehicle suddenly to avoid smashing into a crashed car on the highway. "It's fascinatin', y'know." Hunter shrugged.

"Ssseen tu-two ssssmokerrrsss." He said. "Ssssex." Hunter had quickly picked up on the terms used by the survivors to describe the special infected.

"Eh?" Rochelle piped up, leaning forwards more to be an active participant in the conversation. She glanced over at Coach, and let out a breath of relief when she saw he was asleep. "But aren't Smokers always… male?" Hunter reached a hand inside his hood to scratch his face awkwardly.

"Th-they were." He replied. Ellis laughed.

"So I guess they really weren't interested in no babies then." He said, clearly getting a kick out of the mental image. "Oh man, if I see that, I'm takin' a picture or a video or somethin'."

"Gross." Rochelle said, making a face.

"But Smokers are covered in tumors… Nasty, what if they're _everywhere?_" He stuck out his tongue in a disgusted fashion. "Maybe I won't watch after all." Hunter growled.

"Nothing against you, sweetie." Rochelle said, speaking to Hunter fondly. He had become a part of the survivor group in only a few days, and Rochelle had already begun using pet names for him. "You're a special, special infected." She giggled, but interrupted her own laughter with a yawn. "Oh boy, I think I'm gonna have a nap boys." She smiled to herself and settled back, closing her eyes. "No fighting, now…" She fell asleep instantly.

"Nnnnoot…" Hunter mumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest. Ellis frowned.

"Not what, buddy?" Hunter just shrugged.

"Nnnnot ssssspecial." He hissed, turning his head away from Ellis, who clenched the wheel again. Why would Hunter think that?

"Whaddya mean?" He asked. Hunter peered into the back, apparently checking to see if anyone was awake and listening in. Since nobody was, he turned back and tugged at a loose string on his frayed hoodie.

"Nn-nob…od…nn-obody wantsss." He replied, sounding anxious. He peeked up nervously to see Ellis' reaction.

"What?" Ellis said, a little too loud, since Coach grunted in his sleep and turned over, but thankfully didn't wake up. "That's crazy!" He whispered harshly, realizing his mistake. "I want ya, we all want ya. 'Cept maybe Nick, but I think even he likes ya, really." Hunter growled at the mention of Nick and crossed his arms.

"Are ya still bein' uptight over that?" Ellis sighed. "Look, I'm not denying it or anythin'. I won't hide what I did. But I ain't ashamed of it none either, and y'all need to stop judging."

"Nnnot." Said Hunter briskly, the word sounding a little more human the more he said it. "Not."

"Yer so confusin'." Ellis replied crankily. "Just tell me what ya want. What would make ya feel wanted or whatever. What's makin' ya feel left out?" Hunter grumbled in his own infected language and turned his head away again, pointedly avoiding eye contact.

"Fine then." Ellis replied, staring out the front window and ignoring his companion.

* * *

><p>They made good time to the next town, but they found that it was significantly more packed with infected than the previous location. Ellis ran down a great deal of them with the SUV, but eventually they had to get out in order to reach the safe house. Ellis parked 25 meters away and pulled an axe into his hands. The others were similarly stocked up, and Hunter was sitting in the same seat as Ellis, planning to go out his door to protect him, which Ellis wasn't sure how he felt about.<p>

"Okay people." Said Coach, clutching a shotgun tightly. "Just to the safe house. Not bad at all, right? We've been through worse." They all nodded their assent, and after a quick count to 3 by Rochelle, they dove out of their doors and into the frenzy.

"Holy Shiiiiiiit!" Ellis yelled, swinging his axe like a madman straight away. "Don't make screechy noises, Hunter, or I might attack ya, kay?" Hunter growled and pounced into a tree for a better vantage point over the sea of zombies. Ellis mowed down a group attacking him from the front, but gasped in pain when he felt claws digging into his back and drawing blood. Hunter was on the culprit in an instant, landing on top of a similarly clothed Hunter, but they were easy to tell apart; Hunter's movements were more graceful (even when ripping things apart) and he was clearly trying to keep his frantic kin away from Ellis, who had returned to chopping off arms, legs, and anything else that got in his way. He pulled out a pistol and shot an infected in the head when it tried to attack Nick from behind. Nick nodded in his direction and continued shooting his way through the crowd.

"Smoker!" Coach yelled. Ellis looked around wildly, but was too late to escape the slimy tongue that wrapped around his torso and constricted tightly.

"Why is it always _me_?" He yelled in pain, kicking and struggling against his bonds. Hunter tried to leap to his rescue, but was pulled back into battle with the other Hunter. Ellis called out for help, but all the others were simply too far away to reach him. Hunter was screeching now in a horrified sort of manner, claws and teeth flashing everywhere as he desperately tried to finish off his double.

"Please not this." Ellis hissed to himself as he was pulled across the pavement despite his kicking and wiggling. "I don't wanna die like this. Jesus, a Smoker, really?" The Smoker was on top of a building, and he started to pull him up along the brick wall, Ellis' skin rubbing up against the harsh surface, earning himself painful patches where the skin was scraped clean off. He stared out over the scene around him; The survivors were almost at the safe house, and there was a huge group of infected between them and Ellis. Hunter was nowhere in sight. Ellis' heart dropped.

"Oh God no, oh no please." He whimpered, staring around frantically. "Hunter!" He yelled." Where are you? Please, buddy, where are you?" There was no answer as he was continually pulled upwards, a good 5 feet now between him and the hard ground. Suddenly, there was a pained screech from above. Ellis looked up, but didn't have much time to view what was happening before he plummeted to the pavement, landing hard on one of his ankles. He groaned in pain as he toppled over, now a prime target for the common infected. They didn't have time to attack him, however, before a familiar figure landed in front of him from the top of the building, crouching over and growling at them all. When a pair of common infected tried to get around to attack Ellis, Hunter slashed their throats, and they fell to the ground immediately.

"Hunter!" Yelled Ellis in relief. He had been so horrified that Hunter might have been taken down by his kin that he had actually disregarded the fact that he was being dragged upwards by a Smoker at the time. "Oh God Buddy, you're okay!" Ellis leapt forwards and wrapped his arms around Hunter, struggling not to burst into tears of happiness.

"G-Get on." Hunter hissed, still fending off the crowd. "Nnnow." Ellis quickly climbed onto Hunter's back, not stopping to think it over. He didn't need to. He trusted Hunter.

"Go, just go!" Ellis shouted, clutching Hunter's shoulders for dear life. Ellis could feel Hunter's powerful legs tense up, and he tightened his grip as he made a gigantic leap, landing in a tree nearby. With another powerful push, he was right in front of the safe house door. Rochelle, who was in tears, threw open the door and dragged the two of them inside.

"Are you okay?" She asked frantically, laying Ellis down on the cold cement floor. "Oh Jesus, look at you!" And sure enough, he was a bit of a mess. Coach ran to get a med-kit as soon as he saw the wounds, and Nick's eyes just widened. As short of a time that Ellis had been exposed or attacked, he had certainly attained some painful injuries.

"Shit, ow." He said when he tried to sit up. Clenching his teeth, he slid back to lean against the wall, Hunter following him nervously, and catching him when he started to fall over. With a growl, he propped him back up. Ellis stared down at himself, making an evaluation of what would have to be done. His pants were ripped and torn, and his knee's were bloody underneath the ripped and stained material. From the pain in his back, he had clearly scraped off a nice bit of skin and left it raw and aching, and his ankle was throbbing horribly. He prayed it wasn't broken.

"What first, hun?" Rochelle asked anxiously when she hurried back towards him with the kit. Nick approached and looked on nervously, while Coach took a chair and wiped his forehead with a cloth, clearly just grateful that they were out of the danger zone.

"Check my ankle." Ellis replied, biting his lip when merely speaking sent aches through his ribs. One of those might be broken as well, from the fall. Strange he hadn't noticed it when he was so happy to see Hunter… Rochelle pulled off Ellis' shoe carefully, but still had to apologize when Ellis cringed.

"Oh, thank goodness." She said, after prodding it carefully and pulling out a roll of bandage. "It's not a break, just a sprain. I'm almost positive." Ellis let out a breath of relief. They couldn't afford the time it would take for a broken ankle to heal. After wrapping the painful ankle, Rochelle disinfected and patched up his other wounds, paying special attention to the scraped off skin on his back. He may be immune to the zombie infection, but he wasn't immune to everything.

"There you go, sweetie." Rochelle said, sitting back and evaluating her work. "That's the best I can do with what I've got. You need rest. Bed. Now."

"But Ro-" Ellis started to complain.

"Bed." She answered firmly. "Hunter, help him into that bedroom. You're sharing with him. Coach and I each have a bedroom, and Nick agreed to sleep on the pull-out mattress in here." She gestured around the safe house room, which Ellis then took a moment to look at.

It was bland, and clearly hadn't been built for the special purpose of housing people. The floor was cold and hard, although some thoughtful person had laid down a large area rug. The walls were industrial gray, and the lights were fairly harsh. The furniture was also mundane; a small kitchen area, a table with 4 folding chairs, a red two-seater couch (Which Ellis assumed turned into a bed) and a comfy looking matching red recliner.

Hunter pulled insistently on Ellis' t-shirt, so he stood up shakily. Hunter noticed he was having trouble and quickly straightened up more so he could help keep Ellis steady on his feet.

"Thanks." Ellis said, limping with Hunter into the door Rochelle had indicated. "G'night all." He called out as Hunter kicked the door shut behind them.

"Bed." Said Hunter, pulling his human onto said object. "G-Get betterrr." Ellis sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. I don't really wanna sleep though." He said, turning on is side and resting his cheek in his palm. "Can you help me take off my pants?" He asked suddenly, realizing he was uncomfortable in them. If he was going to have to sleep, he wasn't doing it all bundled up. Hunter growled to himself and didn't move. Ellis raised an eyebrow and waited, and finally Hunter sighed and crawled forwards, hooking his fingers in the waistline of Ellis' coveralls. Ellis lifted his bottom slightly, wincing as he did so, and let them slip off, leaving him in his usual plain boxers. These were his favourite pair, covered in various candies. He was glad he had been able to wash them in the last house. This house had electricity and water too, but no TV or anything.

"C'mon, let's go to sleep." Ellis yawned, slipping under the pale blue covers. "Get under here with me, I don't wanna sleep alone." Hunter hesitated.

"Want… mmm-me?" He asked nervously, as though he wasn't sure. Ellis just rolled his eyes and patted the space beside him.

"Didn't I already tell ya? O' course we want ya, Buddy. Always. It doesn't hurt that ya saved my life today either." Hunter still stayed where he was, but after Ellis patted the space one more time, he crawled underneath as well, still fully clothed.

"Oh no ya don't." Said Ellis playfully. "Hoodie off at least." He grabbed the zipper and pulled it down, leaving Hunter to flinch back as he always did when he felt exposed. Ellis was surprised when he didn't completely retreat, and instead let him finish removing the garment.

"There." He murmured when he had thrown it to the side. "That wasn't so bad, eh?" Hunter just snuggled his face into the pillow, his embarrassment returning.

"W-weird." He said in a muffled voice. Ellis just laughed and threw an arm over Hunter's bare back. Hunter froze up, but let out a purr when Ellis rubbed a soothing circle on his back.

"Go to sleep, buddy." Ellis said quietly. "I'll be here in the mornin'. Every mornin'."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Hi everybody! Sorry it's been so long since an update! Work and school have really taken a toll on my free time. I worked 24 hours last week on top of the 6 or 7 hours I spend in school a day. When I get home, I really just want to sleep or do something that doesn't require much brain-power. Thankfully this week I only worked 20 hours, and I have three days off in a row for once. I vowed to get this out by Saturday, but I got it out early! Whee! I'll try to get one out a week, now. I've got plans to finish this by December. Oh, and my other story should be updated soon too. And also I'm going to be doing a HunterxSmoker one-shot. Just for kicks. It's all planned out, all I need to do is write it. _

_And now for an exclusive Nick!Boss story!:_

* * *

><p>"I'm going home, Nick!Boss is your supervisor now!" Said our usual cash supervisor on a regular weekday night in her amazing accent as she pulled on a coat to leave. "Ask him if you have any problems. Ciao." It being a rather slow night, I turned to my old underwear tagging friend and giggled.<p>

"Do you think he's wearing her usual pink supervisor key-chain?" I asked, the mental picture killing me. "I have to know. I _have_ to." My friend giggled along with me.

"Maybe he is! I need some quarters anyways, let me page him." And struggling not to burst into laughter over the paging system, she requested he come to the cashes to help distribute some money among us. We knew he was coming when...

"Does that sound like jingling keys to you?" I asked, staring in the general direction it was coming from. And sure enough, around the corner came Nick!Boss with a bright pink key-chain hung around his neck, keys jingling against his chest.

"Did you need something?" He asked in a rather cranky voice that suggested he had been doing something else. I disappeared behind my cash counter in fits of giggles while my co-worker strained to remain coherent.

"Y-Yes, just some change." She covered her mouth and covered a giggle with a cough. As Nick!Boss left our station, we saw him very self-consciously place the pink key-chain into his pocket, and he sulked away.

* * *

><p><em>There ya have it! I'll throw these in here sometimes, particularly on short chapters. Don't read them if you hate them or anything, but they're all true stories, and rather amusing.<em>

_Thanks for readin', and reviews still make my heart burn with fiery passion! _

_Review Fun: What do you think Nick!Boss would do if he discovered this story, and realized I picture him as Nick all the time? (He has Nick's personality too, so remember that.)_


	8. Chapter 8

Ellis woke up the next morning feeling much better than he had the previous evening. His ribs still ached, and his back was sore, but it wasn't overwhelming. He felt very comfortable as well. Hunter was lying curled up like a cat against his chest under the covers, still sleeping. Ellis felt proud, in a way. Hunter's were very perceptive, and it was obvious Hunter trusted him or he would have already been awake, not exposing his vulnerable side to Ellis. Then again, if Hunter didn't trust him, he wouldn't be with a group of survivors at all. Ellis dwelled on the thought of other infected, and compared them with Hunter. He hadn't met even one other that had been halfway decent like his friend. Then again… He thought back on the time he had first met Hunter. He had been very nervous and would most certainly have attacked him if he hadn't been injured. After that, however, his attachment to Ellis and the others had grown almost ridiculously fast. Even faster than a regular human probably would have.

An idea hit Ellis, but it was stupid, of course. No way the others would let him try…

He felt a slight shuffle against his body, and looked down again to see Hunter's eyelids fluttering open. He yawned, exposing very lethal sharp teeth, and blinked up at Ellis. He looked confused for a second, reminding Ellis of Keith, who had always woken up not knowing where he was or what he was doing. The memory made him laugh.

"G'mornin buddy." He said. Hunter just yawned again and reached up to pull his hood tighter over his face; only to find that it wasn't there. He let out a pathetic little screech and stared down at his naked chest. He looked relieved to find he was still wearing his pants.

"Man, I didn't rape ya." Ellis said with a roll of his eyes. "Yer sweater is on the end of the bed. But don't get up yet. I like ta' lie down for a while before I get up." He stretched his arms out and sighed.

"O-Ookay." Hunter said, scratching his face nervously with his long claws. Ellis pulled his hands away, and stared down at him.

"Why do ya do that?" He asked, holding his hands down even when he tried once again to cover his face. "I wanna be able ta see ya, buddy." Hunter shrugged and tucked his head down so all Ellis could see was his fluffy hair. He sighed, and released the Hunter's hands. Absentmindedly, he started to run his fingers through the fluffy brown hair on top of Hunter's head. Hunter let out a startled noise, and proceeded to look up at him in confusion.

"Nnnn?" He whined questioningly. Ellis just smiled and continued to play with the soft strands, letting them fall though his fingers and land back on Hunter's head in a bit of a mess.

"Playin' with peoples hair usually calms em' down." Ellis explained. Hunter made a purring noise and squirmed closer to his human, hitching a leg up around Ellis' hip and hooking his hand around his back to pull gently at his hair.

"You like ta' be close, dontcha?" Ellis said with a grin, using his free hand to tickle up Hunter's leg. Hunter squirmed and made an almost laughing sort of growl. Ellis let his hand rest on Hunter's hip, lightly brushing his fingers over the bare skin above his pant-line. Hunter shivered.

"Sssstop." He hissed, pushing his hips forwards to escape the contact, but winding up pushing onto Ellis in an even more intimate way. He let out a whine.

"Calm down, buddy." Ellis said with a frown. "I'm not gonna hurt ya none." They both jumped when there came a knock on the door, followed by Rochelle's voice.

"I'm making breakfast, do you want some?" She asked, cracking the door open to peek inside. Hunter quickly retreated under the blankets so his face would remain hidden.

"Yeah, o' course. Thanks Ro." Ellis grinned and hopped out of bed happily. "Is it somethin' hot?"

"I made a little surprise for you." She winked, and let him hurry past her excitedly. She grinned when she heard his yell of delight.

"Pancakes!" He cheered, gesturing at them like they were made of gold. To the survivors, they were probably better than gold. "Real pancakes! Where'd ya get em, Ro?" She shrugged, but she had a twinkle in her eye that always showed up when she saw how her work paid off.

"Just grabbed them in the last town. Thought you might like them, sweetie."

"Sure do!" He said cheerfully, digging into the stack already set on a plate for him with a fork. "No syrup, but I ain't complainin'!"

"I am." Said Nick, sitting up on his sofa-bed with a groan. "You're unbelievably loud. So much for getting some rest."

"God forbid ya don't get your beauty sleep." Snorted Coach, walking out of the tiny bathroom surrounded by a cloud of steam from his shower. His comment came out sounding a little cold, but at least he was talking to Nick again. Ellis hoped fervently that the issue with Nick (Well, and half of Ellis) being gay would just blow over. Hunter crawled out of the bedroom at that moment, hoodie pulled back tightly over his face. He immediately sat himself next to Ellis, leaning against his leg and staring around the room in an almost protective manner.

"Did ya sleep good?" Ellis asked his friend through a mouthful of pancakes. They tasted even better than they smelled and looked. God damn, it had been too long.

"Nn." Hunter said, meaning yes.

"I'm glad." Ellis replied, sitting back and patting his stomach as though it were protruding. (Although it was clearly just as flat as always.) "Ro, those were the best damn pancakes I ever did have." Rochelle smiled over at him from where she was leaning in the kitchen.

"Thank you." She said. "Now no need to jump up or anything. After yesterday, we all need a good rest." Ellis grinned.

"Thank God." He said, standing up and running suddenly at where Nick was lying on the sofa-bed, before doing a huge belly-flop on it with a yell of happiness.

"JESUS." Nick shouted, rolling away from the impact.

"Surprised ya!" Ellis said, peering up from the mess of sheets he had made with a cheeky grin on his face.

"No shit, hick." Nick growled, before standing up and walking into the tiny kitchen to grab two pancakes for himself. Ellis rolled over onto his back to spread out over the bed, but groaned in pain. Hunter was by him in an instant.

"Just… ow. My back." Ellis said, wincing and sitting back up. "I think I, uh, opened it up again." He stared sheepishly at Rochelle, who sighed and reached on top of the fridge to get a red med-kit.

"C'mere hun." She said, sitting in a chair at the table. Ellis slumped over to her and sat in front of her meekly. She tugged on his yellow t-shirt, and he lifted his arms so she could remove it.

"Y'know, you're pretty ripped, Ellis." She said with a chuckle, as she opened the container of bandages and disinfectant. Ellis, always the joker, lifted an arm and flexed a muscle with a proud expression. Nick snorted from across the table.

"Yeah, he's _real_ manly." He said with a smirk, raising his eyebrow slightly. Ellis rolled his eyes.

"Oh, shut up you fruit." Rochelle retorted, earning herself an angry scowl. Coach left the room conveniently at that moment, entering his bedroom. "He won't be on the bottom forever, right sweetie?" She smiled fondly at Ellis, but he just shrugged back at her. (Wincing when he felt the skin pull over his wound.)

"I dunno man." He said with a serious expression. "Bein' on bottom is preeeetty wicked."

"Never thought I'd hear that from you." Rochelle said, pulling his shirt back over him. "You seem like the guy that had a million girlfriends in high school and loved every one of em'."

"Only ever had the one." Ellis replied, stretching slightly and sighing in relief when his wound didn't open up again. "She asked me, so I figured mind as well try to get laid at least once, y'know?" Rochelle laughed.

"And did you?" She asked curiously. Ellis made a face.

"Nope. Broke up after a month. She tried ta' tell off Keith, can ya believe that?" He shook his head as he remembered the blasphemous action. "So, we doin' anything today?"

"I know I wouldn't usually be the one to remind you of this," Nick said suddenly, "But your monster pet here is probably hungry." Everyone turned to stare at Hunter who stared back at them with a frown.

"Are ya?" Ellis asked him. Hunter shrugged, but they all heard his stomach let out a rumble. Rochelle chuckled.

"Why don't you boys take him out?" She suggested, picking up Nick's empty plate and walking towards the sink. "I'm exhausted, and I found a book in the last place that I'd love to start." Her eyes glanced wistfully towards her backpack where they assumed her novel was located.

"Go for it, Ro." Ellis said, standing up. "Hey, Buddy, can ya carry me?"

"Mmmn." Hunter growled, crawling over and sitting in front of him patiently. Ellis whooped and jumped onto his back.

"This is gonna be so fun!" He yelled like a little kid, wrapping his legs around Hunter's abdomen.

"Jesus, that's the weirdest thing I've ever seen." Nick said, shaking his head and grabbing his jacket off the back of the couch, pulling it on quickly. He tossed Ellis a pistol and grabbed a gun for himself before nodding his head at the door. Hunter leapt to the door and pushed it open intelligently before jumping outside with a happy growl.

"I'm like a cowboy! Yeeee-haw!" Ellis cheered, holding onto Hunter with one hand and shooting an infected in the chest with his other. Nick sighed and closed the door behind them, sticking to the street as Hunter bounded from tree to tree above him.

"You're like a three year old." Nick said, rolling his eyes and pulling his knife out of it's sheath just in time to take out a zombie that came running at him from the side.

"Didn't stop ya, now did it?" Ellis said, before actually thinking about the words that came out of his mouth. An awkward silence followed, and Hunter growled, clearly not enjoying the memory of the night he had been booted out of the bedroom.

"Look, Ellis-" Nick started in what sounded like a pained voice.

"Didn't mean nothin'." Ellis said as Hunter leapt to the road so the two could talk face to face. Hunter deposited Ellis and jumped off again, having spotted a tasty looking common infected.

"What?" Nick said, blinking stupidly.

"Didn't mean nothin'." Ellis repeated, scratching the back of his neck. "Just… I dunno. I wanted to. I'm not in love with ya or anythin'." Nick let out a long breath of relief.

"Thank God." He said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. "I was all prepared to give a big speech about how I wasn't ready for a relationship." Ellis shrugged.

"Well, don't worry 'bout it. I was actually worried _you_might feel bad if I said somethin'…" Nick just rolled his eyes, and things quickly returned to normal, with their usual back and forth insults and jokes, usually at each others expense. Mostly at Ellis'.

* * *

><p>Hunter showed up again half an hour later with a blood-stained mouth, looking much more pleased than he had before he had eaten.<p>

"Better?" Ellis asked. He nodded and began licking the blood off his hand like a cat might lick it's paw. "Thanks for mentionin' that, Nick.." He added on.

"No problem." He said, in a more cheerful mood after he found a half-full pack of cigarettes on the side of the road. "But we should go back now before Rochelle has a stroke about us being gone too long." Ellis nodded, and they slowly began the walk back to the safe-house.

It was a very calm atmosphere inside the safe-house. One that Ellis really enjoyed, despite how excited he might look while fighting zombies. He liked being able to kick back and not have to make sure something was going for his throat every ten seconds. Then again, he had always liked a little bit of adventure in his life. He had been best friends with Keith, hadn't he?

" Hey, did I ever tell y'all 'bout the time Keith asked Dave to shave his girlfriends name in his hair? Well, man, you wouldn't believe what happened-"

"Third degree burns over 90% of his body?" Nick suggested sarcastically with a laugh. Ellis scowled at him.

"_No_, man, Nick, we wasn't even usin' anythin' flammable."

"Oh, my mistake." Nick said with a shrug, tossing a ball in the air and catching it again swiftly. He was the only one in the safe house that just wanted to keep moving on. He got tense when he had too much time on his hands. Hell, there wasn't even a casino to go where he could keep entertained. He had found a pocket game of Black Jack, but it had run out of batteries, and the rest of the group felt it wasn't important enough to waste any fresh ones for.

* * *

><p>At 7:00 PM that night, they were all sleepy and content, with bellies full of the beans Rochelle had cooked from a can.<p>

"Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more ya eat, the more ya toot!" Ellis sang happily as he lay flopped across an armchair.

"Ellis!" Rochelle scolded, and he smiled meekly at her.

"Sorry Ro."

At 8, Ellis stretched out lazily and beckoned to Hunter as he stood up from a heated conversation about football with Coach.

"C'mon, I wanna get a shower." He said, walking towards the small bathroom they had. Coach pursed his lips but ignored the action he apparently did not approve of, Nick screwed up his face into a disgusted expression, and Rochelle just watched apprehensively. Hunter, looking somewhat embarrassed as everyone stared at him, followed Ellis into the room.

It was small, but not unpleasant. The floor was white tile, and the walls were a very mundane beige, with plain white appliances. There was no bathtub, just a small shower.

"Let's go Buddy." Ellis said happily, reaching and turning on the water as he stripped out of his t-shirt quickly. "I'm gonna need yer help too, with my back." Hunter grumbled and played anxiously with his zipper. "Ya know I'll take that off if ya don't do it yerself." He added on, noticing that Hunter was hesitating.

"Nnn." He mumbled, pulling down the zipper and dropping the sweater to the floor self-consciously. As per usual, he turned the second his face was exposed. Ellis was already completely butt-naked, having no reservations about removing his clothing. He sighed and walked over to Hunter, grabbing his pants by the waist and pulling them down to his ankles. Hunter stepped out of them, a slight darkening in his cheeks, as though he was blushing.

"S'no big deal." Ellis said with a shrug, laying the bottoms on the sink. "You gonna actually take those off this time?" He nodded towards the gray boxers that the infected still donned. Rochelle had washed them while he hid in the bedroom, so they were clean, but aside from that, Hunter refused to remove them. He stood there playing with the waistband nervously.

"G-Get innn." He hissed, pointing at Ellis, then at the shower. Ellis cocked his head to the side curiously, but did as he was asked. When he was inside the shower cabinet he turned to face the wall, since that was clearly what Hunter wanted. Outside the shower, Hunter stood trying to make up his mind. Take them off, or don't? After almost an entire two minute of deliberation, and just when Ellis was about to scold him for being shy, Hunter slipped inside the shower with him.

"Ya good?" Ellis asked, staring down at the fluff of hair standing close by him. He saw the shoulders rise and then fall, and he laughed. "That's good. Here, lemme get some shampoo for that messy hair of yers." Hunter didn't protest as Ellis poured some of the liquid in his palm and began to massage it into his head. In fact, he actually purred and snuck closer to Ellis' body; almost uncomfortably close.

"Hey, for someone who was all shy, ya sure ain't tryin' to stay far away, are ya?" Ellis grinned, continuing to massage Hunter's head, who just grumbled in response. After Ellis had rinsed the shampoo out of his own hair and Hunter's, he grabbed a bar of soap that he had unwrapped before they entered and gave himself the once over, aside from his sore back.

"M-Me?" Hunter questioned, staring at the soap.

"Ya like the soap?" Ellis asked, rubbing it on his cheek. Hunter hesitated, then nodded and allowed him to gently start to rub the bar over his body. Ellis was very cautious, delicately passing over the old cuts and injuries that were mostly healed. Hunter shivered when his hand ran down his abdomen.

"Turn around." Ellis told him. "Lemme wash your back now." Hunter obeyed and turned. Ellis continued his routine, watching the way the tense muscles in Hunter's back rippled and relaxed as he ran his hands over them. Suddenly, and without warning, Ellis stepped forwards and closed the space between them, wrapping his arms around his friend.

"W-Wha?" Hunter gasped in surprise.

"Yer so important to me, buddy." Ellis mumbled, burying his face in Hunter's shoulder. "Really." Hunter blushed, but didn't make any movements. When Ellis released him, he was smiling happily. "I know ya care 'bout me too, ya don't need ta' say nothin'. Turn around now, I forgot to wipe yer face completely." Hunter grumbled something to himself. "Sorry, didn't catch that, Buddy." Ellis said.

"N-Nno." Hunter mumbled again, hugging his arms around his waist. "Can't."

"Why not?" Ellis scanned his friend in confusion. After Hunter didn't reply, Ellis sighed and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him around so he could face him. "Yer bein' silly-" He started to say, but then paused when he realized that Hunter refused to meet his gaze, his cheeks now much darker than usual.

"What's yer problem?" Ellis frowned, looking him from top to bottom. And then he found the problem. "Oh." He said, eyes widening as he saw that Hunter was, well, aroused. "Yer… Um… Oh." Hunter shuffled nervously, arms still wrapped around his own abdomen for some form of comfort.

"Do you want me to, um…" Ellis started awkwardly. "To uh, help you?" Hunter's head snapped up.

"Wh-What?" He stuttered, more out of embarrassment than bad pronunciation.

"Let me help you." Ellis whispered, laying his forehead against Hunter's. Hunter hesitated.

"O-Okay."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_I'VE MISSED YOU, MY DARLINGS. AHHHH, I'M SO SORRY. I've been working out the butt, and school has been crazy stressful. I probably only finished this because my internet died. Anyways, yeah, here ya go! The next chapter! And I'll probably get to work on the next one... Um... I don't know when. I work all weekend, so maybe sometime next week. _

_Umm... What else... Bah, I usually have a gazillon things to say. It's... um... cold... here? I live in Canada. HOLLLA. _

_Review Fun: What would you do if you were trapped on an island and had the choice to bring either, A) A somehow endless supply of food and water, B) A horse (hawrse), or C) Ellis and Nick together + A camera, what would you choose? I think I'd just watch the yaoi and let myself die. _

_I've also decided to start answering questions at the ends of chapters that are asked in reviews, so aaaaask away! I don't care what it is. Personal? Heck, go for it. Even if it has nothing to do with the story. Or if it does have something to do with the story, or other stories, that's cool too!_

_I think me and all my review-ers should get tattoo's that say "Bros". Just sayin'! _

_PS: Some man came through my check-out the other day with 3 sexy garter-belts. Nothing else. Also, he was by himself. Also also, Nick!Boss decided the best time to communicate with me was when I was covered from head to toe in lingerie that needed to be put away. (I use myself as a rack.) That was a bit awkward. _

_So... Yeah. BYE MY LOVERS. _


	9. Chapter 9

There was a definite blush on Hunter's face as Ellis let his hand drift slowly south. Ellis' face was a mix of curiosity and slight embarrassment. He couldn't believe he had suggested this. Not that he minded, because he really didn't, but nobody could deny that it was a bit awkward. His hand grasped around Hunter's arousal gently, and he gave him a stroke to see what he felt like more than to give his friend pleasure.

"Weird." Ellis murmured as he gave another slow stroke. Hunter let out a hurt growl and made to move away. "No, no, not what I meant!" Ellis added on hastily, and Hunter stopped, eyes narrowed in confusion. "It feels completely normal. I expected somethin' different, y'know?" Hunter just turned his face to the side as Ellis ran his thumb over the tip, trying to see the expression that he Hunter was wearing. He wondered briefly what happened when an infected came, but heck if he wasn't finding out soon. As he continued his ministrations, Hunter began to pant heavily, letting out little whimpers whenever Ellis found an especially pleasant spot to touch. Ellis was sure that it wouldn't take long for him to finish, since he hadn't exactly been keeping up with this sort of thing in his infected life, and sure enough, only a minute or so later, Hunter's claws dug into Ellis' shoulders and he let out a high pitched keen, releasing into Ellis' hand. He gave him a couple of last strokes before he pulled away and let the shower wash the sticky liquid off of his hand. Hunter, meanwhile, slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, looking up at Ellis with his big dark eyes. The survivor felt a slight twinge in his lower regions, but was thankful that it didn't turn into a full-blown erection. That would have been embarrassing.

"C'mon, let's git dry." He suggested after Hunter seemed to gain some of his ability to think properly again. He nodded and crawled out of the shower, pulling on his boxers without waiting to be dried off, clearly still embarrassed. Ellis rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p>They left the bathroom together, and Ellis noticed Nick glaring at them. He raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored him.<p>

"We're goin' to bed." He said, leaning down to give Rochelle a kiss on the cheek. She accepted it, but gave him a smack along with a playful laugh when his wet hair dripped all over her book.

"Get going, then." She said, shooing him along with her hands. Coach raised a hand in a goodnight gesture, and Nick just crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

"Shuddup, Nick." Ellis muttered, walking towards the bedroom with Hunter on his heels.

"Didn't say a word, Overalls." The conman replied in a scornful voice. The others stared between them in confusion, but Ellis ignored their unspoken questions, walked into their bedroom and shut the door. He glanced at the alarm clock and sighed. It was only 8:45 PM. He was sleepy, but he didn't really want to go to bed yet.

"C'mon." He said, beckoning Hunter onto the bed where he had crawled and sprawled out. Hunter followed and sat at the edge, staring at his human apprehensively. "What?" Ellis questioned.

"Nnn-Nick." The Hunter murmured quietly, scratching his cheek. Ellis just shrugged in response.

"Don't worry 'bout him. He's just weird, that's all."

"No." Hunter growled in what seemed to be a frustrated tone.

"He is so, buddy." Ellis rolled his eyes. "I mean, we're still bros, but…" He frowned. "He _is_ weird." Hunter just huffed and crawled forwards, sitting on Ellis' ankles and staring at him with an almost angry look on his face.

"No." He repeated. "Y-You…" He paused, as though unsure of how to word what he was going to say, or perhaps he didn't have the proper vocal equipment for the words he wished to voice. "Nick." He said again. "El-Ellis." The corners of his mouth turned upwards into a small smile as he finally stuttered out Ellis' name.

"Ya said my name!" Ellis cheered happily, a full blown grin exploding on his face.

"Ellis." Hunter repeated with a nod. "Nick." He added on, staring at Ellis with a meaningful expression.

"Something to do with me n' Nick?" The survivor responded in confusion. "I thought ya heard, we're just buds. Too weird ta' be somethin' more, y'know?" Hunter looked more frustrated after every sentence Ellis spoke.

"Noooo." He stretched the word out and wound up sounding oddly like a teenage girl. "Ellis. Nick. B-Bed." Ellis paused, understanding now flooding through him and causing his cheeks to light up.

"That was… Nothin'. Don't even.. It was just…" Ellis ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment. Hunter scratched at Ellis' ankle, looking thoughtful.

"M-Me?" He stuttered at last, cocking his head to the side like a puppy, eyes flickering anxiously between Ellis' face, and the walls of the room.

"Are you suggestin' what I think yer suggestin'?" Ellis whispered, sitting up suddenly and staring at Hunter with wide eyes. The infected merely shrugged, now avoiding Ellis' eyes and wrapping one of his arms around his own torso. Ellis groaned and fell back onto the bed with a bounce. Hunter mumbled something indecipherable that seemed to be a complaint.

"Now I know how Nick was feelin' when I went and did that." Ellis said, staring at the ceiling. He let out a huff of air. "I don't want things ta' be weird, y'know? Things feel… Different… With you." Hunter's eyes flickered towards Ellis in confusion. Ellis huffed. "Like if I did somethin' wrong, you'd be gone. Nick's still here, and he's exactly the same city slicker shit head that he used ta' be. But maybe I'd lose ya." He propped himself up on his elbows to look at Hunter with a pleading expression. "I really don't wanna lose ya. You're family. You don't do that stuff with family. Maybe you didn't know that, but…" He trailed off awkwardly. "Even in the shower was weird. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry, buddy. It just felt right somehow. Maybe I was jus' curious." Hunter was still for a moment. Then the realization of rejection kicked in, and he quickly leapt from Ellis' ankles and onto the floor. He turned his face away so Ellis couldn't see the hurt that was contorting his face. Ellis seemed to understand that Hunter was upset, and leaned over to turn off the bedroom light.

"G'night buddy." He murmured quietly, drawing the sheets up around himself. "I love ya', y'know. Lots. Maybe we can find ya a pretty infected out there somewhere tomorrow that you can try n' get with." He yawned and turned onto his side, closing his eyes and slowly drifting into dreamland, turning out to be more tired than he thought. Hunter, sitting silently on the floor, tilted his head to look at the ceiling. His eyes felt wet, but surely he wasn't _crying_. His human thought he knew why Hunter was upset. He thought that Hunter just wanted a bit of release. He thought Hunter didn't care who he got it from.

"I-I love y-you too." _He thought wrong. _

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: _Oh god, that was __unbearably short. I have my reasons though, so let me explain. _

_I already had most of this little bit typed out for a while, but didn't want to submit it, because as you can see, it's short, and to be honest, I intended to completely rewrite it. However, a tragedy struck my life, and I found that I could not write. See, my very close friend, and childhood sweetheart, died. I was, and still am, distraught. That was almost a month ago, but it's extremely difficult for me to accept that someone who was such an important part of my life is now gone. I went to his funeral, shared my grief with the other people in pain, and stupidly fell in love, or realized I was in love, with his brother. (It's a pretty long story involving plenty of triangles and adorable 8-year old logic. Feel free to ask about it.) I've never lost anyone this close before, pardoning my great-grandmother who was 87. He was only 19, and it wasn't natural. He fell off a cliff. Absolutely horrific way to go. He just got a little too close to the edge, and then nobody could stop him. The person that was with him at the time had to be medicated, and even then, he left the funeral early because of everything. It was the saddest thing I've ever been to; I seen some of the strongest people in the world breaking down, people I would never have expected to see even wince over anything. The 97 year old woman that thought she would never cry again sobbed. The 15 year old boy down the road broke down at the funeral, and his crying was likely the most heartbreaking thing I have ever heard. I saw my sweethearts 19 year old tough male friends cry as they carried his casket from the church. I can't even begin to explain how hurt I was, and __still am. People have been telling me since I was 2 years old that I would marry that boy. You grow to believe it. Now he's never getting married, he's never having babies. He's just gone._

_I don't mean to rant, really, I don't, but even after all this, it's incredibly painful. It's sort of nice to let it out._

_Anyways, I'm sorry about the chapter and all. I should hopefully be writing more for this soon. No Review Fun, since I'm not really in the 'fun' sort of mood._

_Reviews, though, are still cherished as always! _  
>I d<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Hunter was very subdued and moped around the place without really talking to anybody. Ellis tried to cheer him up, but it only seemed to make the special infected more upset, and he took to avoiding the young man as much as possible. Ellis was convinced that he was just sulking and horny, but of course, he was quite mistaken.

"Hey, Ro!" He called out, scratching his chest with a yawn as he lazily walked into the living room after his shower. Hunter inconspicuously retreated into one of the bedrooms.

"Yeah?" Rochelle replied, looking up from the book she had been glued to since the previous day. Apparently she had been an avid reader before the infection, but had been unable to catch enough peace to do so afterwards.

"I think 'm gonna go out today." He informed her, grabbing his yellow t-shirt off the back of the couch and pulling it over his head to cover his bare skin. "I've got some things ta' do."

"Ellis," Rochelle said in a warning voice, setting the book down in her lap in a sign that she was going to get serious. "You know you can't do that."

"Aw, c'mon." He whined back. "I'm a big boy, I swear."

"No he isn't." Nick added from the kitchen.

"Shaddup," Ellis mumbled, giving his back a glare.

"I don't think so…" Rochelle sighed. "You're excellent at getting into trouble. Remember that time where you were attacked by three different special infected in one trip out of the safe house?" Ellis rolled his eyes.

"Sons a' bitches caught me without a gun, that's all," He explained. "Anyway, I think Hunter will go with me." He looked at the bedroom door with a frown on his face. "If he gets over his sulking."

"He seems to be doing more than sulking, hun," Said Rochelle, picking her book back up. "If you can convince him to go with you, alright. Don't die."

"Won't," He replied, leaning down to give her a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks Ro." She shook her head and laughed as he sprinted into the bedroom. Hunter was there, sitting on the bed with his back to the door. When Ellis entered, he whipped around and stared at him, but made no movement or noise.

"C'mon bud," Ellis said to him. "Let's go out fer a while. Have some fun." Hunter didn't move. After a few seconds of staring at each other, Ellis got antsy.

"What's yer problem?" He whispered, closing the door behind him and walking further into the bedroom. Hunter backed away slightly, looking apprehensive. "Yer bein' dumb."

"Not," Hunter mumbled, half to himself. His stare was focused quite intently on the door.

"Yeah, ya are," Ellis grumbled, walking forwards more and sitting himself on the edge of the bed. "You'll feel better if we get out fer a while." Hunter shrugged, still refusing to look at him. Ellis sighed and flopped back to look at the ceiling in exasperation.

"I'm all cooped up, buddy," He complained. "I need ta' get out. Soon. I hate bein' stuck in these stupid safe house things." When Hunter didn't respond, Ellis grabbed at his pant leg and tugged. Hunter yelped and jumped away from the contact reflexively. Ellis sat up and stared at him. At least he had gotten his attention. "Is this 'bout last night?" He asked flatly. Hunter fidgeted, looking quite uncomfortable.

"No," He said quickly. Ellis raised an eyebrow. The special infected had learned how to lie.

"Look, 'm sorry," He said sincerely. "I didn't mean ta' hurt ya or anythin'. It was like an automatic response or somethin'. In the shower was just a pal givin' his bud a hand, literally." He laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "But what ya were askin' fer ain't somethin' you do with just anyone, y'know?" Hunter stared at him meaningful.

"Nick," He said the word simply, and Ellis gritted his teeth.

"That was… I really wanted… Ugh, I was horny. Like you are now," He said in frustration. Hunter stared to the side again. "Look, let's just get over that n' be friends again. Kay?" The special infected hesitated as he considered the offer, but finally sighed and made his way over to Ellis, crawling up beside him as a way of saying "Okay". Ellis grinned.

"Alright!" He cheered. "Let's get outta this place fer a while!"

* * *

><p>The pair left the safe house together half an hour later (Rochelle insisted upon fussing over how much ammo Ellis had with him, and also decided to pack him a sandwich) and Ellis sighed happily the second he was outside.<p>

"Thank God," He said, pulling his pistol out and shooting the solitary infected on the street. "I feel like it's been forever since I've been outside." Hunter made a noise in assent and leapt up into one of the trees lining the street.

"Keep an eye on them bastards, won't ya?" Ellis called out to him with a grin. Hunter just growled. Ellis started forwards, gun swinging casually back and forth by his side as he walked. His back wasn't fully healed so it was still stinging, but nothing beat the relief of getting out in the semi-fresh air. (If you pretended the smell of decaying bodies wasn't there.) He peeked into buildings as he passed them, but found none interesting enough to actually enter. Most were littered with tattered clothing and human remains anyway, and Ellis wasn't particularily interested in facing that.

Twenty minutes later, Ellis noticed a definite absence of his friend. He looked around nervously, remembering Rochelle's warning about venturing out alone, and hoping that Hunter hadn't gotten himself into trouble. His wounds were nearly entirely healed, but he had managed to get attacked once before**,** and no doubt he could do it again.

"Hunter?" Ellis called out, peering around cautiously, a pistol held in each hand. "Where are ya, buddy?" There was a rustle to the left, and Ellis wheeled around towards it. To his immense relief, it was just Hunter, crouching on the ground with fresh blood surrounding his mouth indicating that he had merely disappeared for a meal.

"Hungry," He explained, crawling forwards and staying next to Ellis. "Sssorry.'

"You coulda told me where ya were goin'!" Ellis said indignantly, glaring at Hunter. "I was worried out of my mind!" Hunter grinned. It was rendered slightly disturbing by the blood stains on his sharp teeth.

"Where… Where are… we going?" Hunter asked after another few minutes of walking. Ellis didn't comment on the full sentence Hunter had said, but was secretly impressed.

"I got an idea," Ellis explained. "Y'know how you were all zombie like and stuff before I found ya?" Hunter paused, thinking back.

"Yesss," He replied.

"Well, I been thinkin'. Maybe you turned good 'cause I saved ya." Ellis grinned at his own idea. "Maybe if I save another one, then they'll be good too!" Hunter growled under his breath, and Ellis quickly recognized it as a sound of jealousy. He sighed. "It's just an experiment, buddy. They ain't gonna stay with us or nothin'. 'Sides, maybe it'll be a lady friend for ya?"

Hunter grimaced to himself. He didn't want a lady friend.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Oh man guys, it's been so long. I feel terrible about not posting until now, and even now it's probably the shortest chapter so far. I'M SORRY. REALLY. I AM. I've been so busy and ahhhh. School stress + Life stress + Happy things like starting horseback riding + arghblarghblargh. _

_On the bright side, I've had several people actually PM me and tell me that I've inspired them to write their own stories, etc, etc. That made me super happy, and I think it's totally cool that people are reading my stories and then wanting to write their own. _

_My life update is pretty good this time. It's been 3 months since my friend died, and I still think of him every night when I pray, but I'm okay now. I have also begun horseback riding. Horses have kind of been my passion since I knew what they were, so this is totally exciting for me. I've started really late, but I hope to make horses my life work. _

_REVIEW FUN IS BACK!: Which is more appealing to you: Feminine boys, or masculine boys? Or in-betweeny? I personally adore looking at feminine boys, but as for actually dating, I think I like somewhere in the middle, or maybe more masculine. I'm one of the few girls I know that can appreciate a well cared for beard. If it's not like, huge. _

_Thanks guys, I'll try to get the next chappie out soon! Reviews are close to my heart!  
><em>


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